


Quelled

by vulpinelucis (CanineKitten)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha Ignis Scientia, Alpha Prompto Argentum, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Intersex Omegas, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Muteness, Omega Gladiolus Amicitia, Omega Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum-centric, Slow Burn, Vaginal Sex, background Gladnis - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-13 09:02:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16014668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanineKitten/pseuds/vulpinelucis
Summary: Prompto lives with his two closest friends, Gladio and Ignis, in a small town house in the outskirts of Insomnia. They try to get by in their lives with low-income jobs that they have to fight to keep because of their status as alpha's and omega's. It didn't use to be like this, but after the old king died and Ravus Nox Fleuret ascended the throne, life hasn't been easy for their kind. Then one day Prompto finds a homeless omega in their garden, and after a rough start he starts taking care of the poor man. Soon they become friends and as he gets to know the shy and mute omega he slowly but surely unravels his traumatic life story and a secret that could be the key to their freedom.





	1. The Omega

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU that was initially supposed to be modern setting, but I ended up using a few elements that would put the story in an AU Eos.

A terse wind rustled the leaves in the garden this evening. It was not much of a garden. Mostly, it was full of weed, but there were two apple trees and a bed of carrots and tomatoes. They didn’t need much more than that.

”Are you out here again?” A gruff voice said from behind Prompto.

”Yeah, that omega I told you about is back.”

Gladio sat down quietly on the edge of the patio next to Prompto.

”I don’t see him,” he whispered.

It was dark and clouded outside, so the only source of light they had came from the windows to their small, three-bedroom town house.

“Just wait.”

Prompto threw another piece of bread into the darkness of the garden. It bordered towards a thick forest that stretched out behind the neat rows of houses. For a long while, nothing happened. But then, suddenly, there was a quick movement, and then it was like a shadow had detached itself from the darkness and darted over to snatch the bread and then disappear again.

“How’d you know it’s an omega?” Gladio asked. “Looks more like a wild animal to me.”

“I can smell it. He’s in heat. I guess that’s why he’s dared come so close to people. He’s so shy, he must have been raised in the woods or something.”

“Hmf…” Gladio stretched. “Well, don’t sit up too long. I’m going to bed.”

“Night.”

Prompto threw another piece of bread. Thankfully, Gladio hadn’t objected to the fact that Prompto was using their precious food resources to feed some creature lurching in the bushes. Prompto dropped the pieces of bread closer and closer to the patio. The omega hesitated more for each time, but slowly he came closer.

“Hi,” Prompto said.

He still couldn’t see the man’s face, but he already knew how he looked. The first time he’d seen him, he’d happened upon him a day when he came back early from work. It had been early afternoon. He’d walked past the glass door that led to the patio and had stopped when he saw someone in their back yard. They’d attempted growing tomatoes and carrots in order to aid their food budget, and now this thief was ripping up every tiny little carrot that Prompto laboriously had managed to grow. He threw open the patio door and yelled at the man to get the hell away.

The man had startled and sunk down towards the ground like a cornered cat making ready to pounce, and then, when he saw that Prompto was still a ways off, grabbed those carrots he’d managed to pull up, and fled. Prompto was so furious he could have strangled the man had he only gotten ahold of him. Instead he stood over the ruined bed of carrots and wanted to cry. He had really worked hard to grow those. Their food budget was already low and Gladio hadn’t been than keen about using their money on seeds in the first place.

That was a few months ago now, and Prompto hadn’t seen the omega again for a while. He had started setting out food to him now and then so that he wouldn’t continue ruining his vegetable garden, so when the food hadn’t been touched for a month Prompto feared that the man had died. But now he was back. Prompto finished the bread and went back inside. He turned in the doorway and was certain he saw the flicker of a pair of eyes reflecting the light, but then they were gone.

 

\-----

 

Gladio slammed the apartment door shut behind him and ripped off the green band that was fastened around his neck; a collar as they were aptly called. He threw it down on the end table in the hallway.

“Bad day?” Prompto asked. He was leaning against the kitchen doorway.

Gladio just growled. He kicked off his shoes and marched into the kitchen.

“No one’s made dinner yet?” It sounded like an accusation. “Where’s Iggy?”

“Working late. I already ate some toast.”

“Toast for dinner?”

“Well, Ignis has banished me from the kitchen after that time when I almost set the stove on fire, so...”

Gladio sighed. “I’ll make us something.”

Prompto was happy to be ordered to chop what needed chopping and find what needed finding, and otherwise just sit by the kitchen table and watch as Gladio moved about. He caught himself staring at Gladio’s firm ass a few times too many. It had been a while since he last had sex. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had enough free time to go out and meet people.

“Can you get some tomatoes?” Gladio asked.

Prompto went into the backyard and kneeled by the tomato-plants. They had grown tall since the omega had been there and looted them. Now they had to be tied to a couple of medium-sized branches that Prompto had fixed, in order not to break. He had started picking a few tomatoes when he heard a rustling from some bushes nearby.

“Hello?” he called.

There was no answer. He was about to turn back to the task at hand when he saw a tuft of black hair stick out from the bush, and then a pair of blue eyes peered at him from inside the shadows. It was the omega.

“Hey,” Prompto said. He was glad to see him again. It had been almost a week and he had been getting concerned. “Are you hungry?”

The omega disappeared from sight again, but judging from the lack of sounds from his departure (for being so into hiding, he wasn’t very stealthy), he was still there.

“I’ll get you something from dinner,” Prompto said. “Just stay there. I’ll be back soon.”

He’d never gotten any confirmation that the omega understood what he said. For all he knew, he could have been raised in the woods and never learned to speak, thought that sounded like a bit of a stretch. But maybe he spoke an entirely different language, or maybe he was deaf. Either way, he was still there when Prompto came back a little later with a small portion of the pasta dish that Gladio had made. He placed the plate on one end of the patio, the one closest to the bush he’d last seen the omega hide in, and sat down on the other end of the patio.

“I brought food,” he said. The bush rustled a bit. “You can just come over here. It isn’t dangerous. I’ll sit over here. I won’t move, I promise.”

Slowly, the omega crept out of the bushes, moving more on his hands and feet than on his feet alone, and never rising from his crouch. He watched Prompto warily and stopped several times before he finally reached the patio.

Even though the man was pale and thin, he was still undeniably beautiful. His blue eyes were clear and expressive, and his face was delicate and pretty. Prompto could only imagine what kind of life an omega with such a pretty face might be trying to escape from.

The omega ate like he hadn’t seen food for weeks. He probably hadn’t.

“He’s a looker.”

Both Prompto and the omega startled at Gladio’s voice from the door. The omega looked like he was about to flee, but hesitated. Gladio remained standing, his posture relaxed.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” he said.

The omega examined him with his eyes for a long moment. He sniffed the air. Then, seemingly satisfied, he went back to eating. He didn’t stay a second longer after he was done, but fled back to the protective darkness of the forest.

“I wonder where he lives,” Prompto said.

“Probably under a bush.”

“I hope he’ll be okay.”

Gladio placed one hand on Prompto’s shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

“He might look fragile but he must be pretty tough to have survived out there for this long. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Gladio went back inside and left Prompto sitting there. It was getting chilly, but Prompto could only think of how cold the omega must be during the night.

“I wish you would let me help you,” he whispered.

 

\-----

 

The next day, Gladio disappeared right into his room after he came back from work. Ignis, who was making them dinner, told Prompto to let Gladio know the food was ready. Prompto knocked on the door but got no answer.

“The food is ready,” he said.

Still no answer.

He went back to the kitchen.

“He doesn’t answer. Think something happened?”

Ignis checked the calendar that hung on the wall.

“Oh, that’s right. It’s time for his heat.”

“He hasn’t brought anyone home this time,” Prompto said. “And he didn’t ask you to help him?”

“No. He didn’t ask you either?”

Prompto shook his head.

“He knows we’re more than willing to help out,” Ignis said. “I suppose he’ll ask if he needs it.”

 

\-----

 

Later that day Prompto decided to bring Gladio a bottle of water and something to eat.

He knocked on the door. He could hear the sounds of cars racing and was grateful that Gladio wasn’t still watching porn. He’d heard it loud and clear when he passed the door to his room half an hour ago.

“Yeah?” Gladio called from within.

Prompto opened the door. “Need anything? I brought water and food…”

_And me_ , he thought, but he didn’t say it.

They had helped each other out during ruts and heats before, but they’d never had a spoken agreement. It just sorted itself out naturally. Usually, Gladio would easily find some willing alpha of his preference who was more than happy to spend three days having non-stop sex (Prompto would be more than happy to do that too…), so if he didn’t initiate anything then he was probably content with his own company.

Prompto placed the water bottle and the food on the bed. Gladio was sitting cross legged on the floor, a blanket around his shoulders – which was unusual enough since Gladio was always warm – playing Grand Theft Auto on the small flat screen. The room was a virtual bombsite. It was so cluttered that it was impressive Gladio even found his bed in the mess.

“Just tell me if you need anything else.”

“Thanks, Blondie.” Gladio gave him a quick smile before he started up the game again. Prompto took it as his cue to leave.

 

\-----

 

“Do you think something happened to Gladio?” Prompto asked Ignis later that night. They were sitting in the living room, Prompto with his camera and Ignis with a book.

Gladio hadn’t left his room that entire day.

“I don’t know. He hasn’t told me anything.”  
Gladio usually let them know if something bothered him since he needed to let out some steam from keeping his angry replies back all evening. Gladio worked as a waiter at a restaurant, and it wasn’t unusual that some alpha took the liberty of copping a feel. Normally, Gladio would have kicked that kind of assholes across the room, but he needed the job dearly and if he wanted to keep it he had to act nice.

Prompto went to the patio doors and looked outside. He opened it a crack, and the cold wind that blew in chilled him to the bones. He hadn’t seen the omega that evening. He went to the kitchen and put two cinnamon buns that Ignis had just baked into his pocket. Then he went out into the backyard in the hopes that he’d see the omega. Everything was quiet. He called out softly, but got no reply. Not as much as a twig moved. He placed the buns on the edge of the patio and retreated back into the house. He left the door open. The night was cold, and it troubled him to think of the omega sleeping out there alone.


	2. Noctis

The next morning, Prompto was in the bathroom when he suddenly heard a ruckus from the living room. He heard Ignis shout, “Get out of here, you filthy creature!”

He rushed into the living room. Ignis stood in the doorway to the patio, a broom in his hand. 

“What happened?”

“There was someone in here, I have no idea where he came from. I suppose the patio door was left open.”

“What… There was someone here? What’d he look like?”

“A filthy, skinny, little thing. Probably a hobo or a drug addict looking for some valuables.”

“Was he pretty? Dark clothes?”

“I suppose…”

“Oh no… Why did you chase him away, Ignis?”

Prompto pushed past him out on the patio.

“Hey! Omega? Please come back…”

“Do you know him?” Ignis asked.

“Sorta… I’ve been feeding him.”

Ignis sighed. “You are too soft hearted. This is what happens when you let strays into your house. Next thing you know, he’ll be murdering us in our sleep. And for Gods sake, lock the goddamned door at night.”

 

\-----

 

That night Prompto kept his window open. It faced towards the neighboring house. The houses were lying so close that there was barely room for a small walkway between the tall wooden fence and his window, but he thought that if he called out to the omega and left a treat on the windowsill then perhaps he would dare to come closer.

As he tried to fall asleep, he wondered if Ignis had been right. He was treating this omega almost like a stray cat; like someone he could take in and care for, but he didn’t know if the omega was trustworthy. Maybe he’d rob him blind the second he got the chance. For some reason, Prompto think that would happen. There was something in the eyes of that man… something gentle and kind, though broken.

Suddenly a shadow appeared in the window, so quickly and quietly that Prompto wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been facing the window with his eyes open. The omega balanced effortlessly on the windowsill as he perused the small selection of bread and pastries that Prompto had set out for him. For a long moment, the omega didn’t move. Then, when he finally deemed the room safe, he started scarfing down the food.

“Hey,” Prompto whispered.

The omega startled, but didn’t flee.

“It’s just me,” Prompto continued. “I’m sorry my friend chased you away. I’m sure he would have let you stay if I’d told him about you beforehand.”

The omega stared eating again, but Prompto had a feeling he was listening. He sat up in the bed, slowly so that he didn’t startle his friend again.

“I don’t mind if you sleep in my room some times. It was really cold out last night. I bet it must be difficult to find food at this time of the year.”

The omega had finished eating, but was still lingering.

“You can sleep there, if you want to,” Prompto said and pointed towards a pillow and a blanket that he’d placed on the floor next to the window. “And you can keep the window open, in case you want to escape.”

The omega was still just sitting there. Prompto couldn’t see his face, since the light from outside cast it in shadow. Prompto laid down.

“I’ll sleep now. Just do what you like.”

He closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He waited for a moment. Then he opened one eye halfway to see if the omega was still there. The window was empty, but he saw movement in the shadows beneath it and heard him settle down on the pillow. Soon after he drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.

 

\-----

 

The next morning he woke early, before even Ignis had gotten up. The sun had only just risen. To his delight the omega was still there. Prompto watched him sleep for a moment. He was afraid to make any sudden movements, in case he should scare the man. He put his feet on the floor and carefully got out of bed. He kept one eye on the omega while he tiptoed to the door, and closed it quietly behind him. He hurried to finish in the bathroom so that he could return to the omega, but when he peeked inside his room he couldn’t see the omega anywhere. He’d left as soundlessly as he came, without leaving one single trace behind.

Prompto continued keeping his bedroom window open, and the omega returned the night after that, and the one after that too. This continued on for a week. Prompto kept his window open every night and the omega always came inside to eat and sleep. He started coming into the garden more often when Prompto was outside alone. Prompto prattled along to him. Although the omega didn’t reply, Prompto guessed that he liked his talking, or else he wouldn’t have stayed. Mostly he just sat on the patio or on the ground in front of it, warily keeping an eye on the door, but soon he relaxed more.

“I wasn’t careful, and now I’m in a rut,” Prompto said conversationally one evening. Prompto was home alone. Gladio had a shift at his second job, a bar downtown, and Ignis was as usual working late at the restaurant. “I wish I could call in sick from work, but I need the money. And besides, a rut isn’t a good enough reason to get a day off. Just feeling the scent of that omega in heat from a few booths away is setting my teeth on edge. It’s worse when you haven’t gotten laid in a while, you know? I’m not sure if heats are the same way. I guess they’re bad anyway?”

He looked up at the omega. He was sitting on the rail of the patio, swinging one leg. Prompto liked to think that the omega enjoyed listening to him. By now he was sure he didn’t have impaired hearing. He was very sensitive to even the smallest sound.

“You could really need a shower,” Prompto mused. The man’s hair was like a crows nest and his skin was almost grey from all the dirt. His clothes were filthy and ragged, and he reeked.

He frowned when Prompto said this, which made him think that he might understand perfectly well what he said.

“Don’t look like that. How long has it been since you last had a shower? Do you want one? No one’s home but me right now, so it’s completely safe.”

The omega hesitated, but when Prompto opened the patio door and went inside, leaving the door open, he soon followed. 

“Here’s the bathroom,” Prompto said and opened the door to their closet sized bathroom. Gladio always complained that the room was so tiny he couldn’t even lift his arms over his head. Gladio was big but Prompto still thought that was a bit of an exaggeration. Noctis looked around the room warily. He stepped into the shower and turned the knobs. The shower turned on and soaked him. Prompto was certain that he’d startle and flee, but instead he smiled. He looked at Prompto as though making sure he was allowed to do this.

Prompto smiled and nodded.

“There’s soap there, and shampoo. Just take your clothes off first.”

Prompto closed the door and went to his room to fetch some dry clothes. He placed the bundle of clothes outside the bathroom. Then he waited. And waited. The shower kept running. A horrible thought struck him. What if the omega had slipped on the tiles and hit his head? What if he was bleeding out in there?

He hurried over to the door and knocked. 

“Hello? Are you okay in there?”

There was no answer. Without thinking twice about it, Prompto barged in. The omega was crouched on the floor of the shower stall.

“Are you okay?”

The omega looked up at him, eyes wide. He looked completely fine. Prompto froze. He hadn’t meant to barge in on him naked. He quickly averted his eyes, but when he glanced back up at the omega’s face, the man nodded and gave him a small smile. He lifted one hand to his hair and pulled dejectedly at his filtered mop of hair.

“I guess you’ll need to cut it. Do you want me to do it for you?”

The omega nodded.

“Okay. Get dressed, and tell me when you’re done.”

He left the bathroom and it took a while before he realized that he was waiting for a shout or something when in truth the omega couldn’t speak. He turned around from where he’d been sorting through a bunch of printed out photos that he’d taken, and almost dropped them all when he suddenly came face to face with the omega. He’d somehow managed to sneak up on him without a sound, and had been looking over his shoulder for gods knew how long.

“Don’t startle me like that!”

The omega didn’t even look remotely apologetic. He took the photos from Prompto’s hand and shuffled through them.

“They’re just candid’s of people I know, mostly.”

The omega stared for a long moment at a photo of Ignis. It had been taken from the side with Ignis staring ahead with a vulnerable and thoughtful expression.

“I like taking pictures of Ignis. I’m trying to catch him with a grimace or something, but he looks good no matter what.”

He led the omega into the kitchen, and sat him down on a chair. He wasn’t exactly good hairdresser material, but in his opinion there wasn’t a lot of damage he could do to the omega’s hair at this point. He just needed to cut it short, and that at least sounded easy enough. He thought. Fifteen minutes later, he was grateful that his test subject didn’t seem very concerned about his appearance. His hair looked like it’d been cut with a lawn mower. It was too short in some places, and too long in others.

“Amazingly, you still look pretty,” Prompto muttered to himself. “I think I’ll have to ask Ignis to fix it.”

The omega shrank back and shook his head.

“You don’t like Ignis?”

The omega looked miserable. He shook his head again.

“He didn’t know you were my friend back when he chased you away. He thought you were a burglar. He’ll be nice to you now that he knows who you are.”

The omega didn’t look like he believed him.

“Well, anyway, I’ll get your clothes washed and then we can get something to eat.”

He left the omega in the kitchen and went to fetch his clothes. They were so filthy he wasn’t sure they could be saved, but he started a washing machine in the hopes that something was salvageable. Then he decided he’d take a quick shower. The worst part of the rut was the almost constant boners. He’d been holding out for a few hours, but now he needed to jerk off again. It wasn’t made easier from having an omega around who, after having showered, definitely smelled very nice.

Once he was done, he found Noctis in the living room. He was crouched on the couch, looking through Prompto’s photos.

“I threw away your boxer shorts,” Prompto said. “You can just keep the one I gave you instead.”

The omega gave him a soft, grateful smile.

 

\-----

 

By the time Gladio came home, Prompto had the omega safely tucked into his room.

Gladio made himself an omelet. When Ignis wasn’t home, they usually resolved to more easily prepared foods. Prompto watched him while he cooked. He didn’t realize that his thoughts had taken an unfortunate direction until Gladio looked at him and, with a casual nod towards Prompto’s crotch asked, “D’you need help with that?”

Prompto blushed. He pulled his shirt down over the front of his pants.

“Oh, er… No thanks. I’ve got company…”

“Oh?” Gladio arched his eyebrows with a knowing smirk. “Well, then I’m not gonna ruin the fun for you.”

Prompto retreated back to his room, knowing full well there would be no ‘fun’ there despite having an omega waiting on him. He hadn’t even considered asking the omega. If he had offered, then Prompto wouldn’t have said no, but asking a stranger something like that, especially one that was dependent of him, didn’t feel right. Alpha’s and omega’s might be more casual about sex than beta’s, but that didn’t mean they were brutes despite the way they were being pictured in the media.

Scarcely a day passed where there weren’t some news about sexual harassment or even rape acted out by ‘desperate’ alpha’s and omega’s. Prompto supposed the news were true, but he doubted that alpha’s and omega’s were the only ones doing things like that. They might get overcome by instincts, but it was seldom they lost control over themselves. Maybe a teenager could do something stupid, but grown alpha’s and omega’s had long since learned to curb their needs, just like beta’s did. It was obvious the media was singling them out in order to reinforce people’s opinion about them, like they usually did.

The omega was curled up on his pillow, and although he seemed perfectly content, Prompto wished he could offer him something more comfortable to lie on. He could have offered to share his bed, but it wouldn’t work out just now. He didn’t want to accidentally start rubbing his boner against the unsuspecting omega.

“Night,” he whispered and turned off the lights.

 

\-----

 

The omega was still there the next morning. That was a first. Usually he was gone long before Prompto woke up. Now he was sitting on Prompto’s desk chair, waiting for him to wake up. The second Prompto opened his eyes, the omega smiled at him.

“Morning,” Prompto muttered. He stretched and yawned.

This was the first morning he didn’t wake up sporting and erection. It seemed his rut had run its course.

Prompto checked that Ignis had left for work before he showed the omega to the bathroom. Once he was done, Prompto took a shower, and then he made them breakfast. Gladio had a late shift tonight so he was probably sleeping in.

The omega ate some cereal with sour cream as though it was something holy. He reverently put the spoon in his mouth and sucked on it before slowly pulling it out.

Prompto turned away with a blush. The rut apparently wasn’t completely out of his system yet.

“Hey,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’ve been thinking about something. Can I call you Noctis?”

The omega whipped around and stared at him, his eyes wide, almost terrified.

“I’m sorry… I won’t if you don’t like it… It’s just, you sorta remind me of the prince, you know? It’s silly… I don’t even remember that well how he looks, but I remember I thought he was pretty… Like you… And something in your eyes remind me of him, though that’s probably weird… It’s not like I’ve ever met him in person. I just saw him on TV a couple of times, but that was many years ago.”

The omega was starting to look alarmed.

“I’m sorry… I’ll stop talking. I won’t mention it again, if it troubles you.”

The omega relaxed a bit. He shook his head.

“I just wish I knew what to call you. It’s kinda weird to just think of you as ‘the omega’. It feels kinda dehumanizing, but I don’t want to just invent a name for you, like a pet. And you can’t tell me what your name is.”

The omega shook his head again. He slid of his chair and moved closer to Prompto.

“What’s that mean, the head shaking? Do you not want a name?”

He shook his head again.

“You _do_ want a name?”

A nod.

“Then… You want me to pick one for you?”

Another nod.

“Uh… I haven’t really thought about any other names. It was just that one that stood out to me.”

The omega nodded again, eagerly. He was kneeling right next to Prompto now. His hand was on Prompto’s thigh. He seemed too eager to really notice how intimate that was.

“You… You like that name? Noctis?”

More eager nodding.

Prompto grinned. “Okay, then. Noctis.”

Noctis smiled.

 


	3. Confrontation

It was easy to hear Gladio when he returned home. He always slammed the door shut, kicked off his boots in every witch direction, and chucked his collar away.

“How was work?” Prompto asked from the living room. He was sitting on the couch, with his back to the hall, and looked over the back of the couch when he heard Gladio approach.

Gladio appeared in the doorway. “You know… the usual.”

“You’ve seemed different lately. Did something happen?”

Gladio shrugged. “Just the usual inebriated dicks at the bar trying to get laid.”

“That’s never gotten to you before.”

Gladio huffed. “There might have been one unusually dickish guy a few days ago, when I was going into my heat. An alpha. I guess he was in rut. He wouldn’t let it go, almost made a scene. I might have taken him home if he wasn’t such a jerkwad. He said some really disgusting things, and I’m used to getting cussed out so the fact that it got to me says a lot.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I wish I could quit the job, but I need the cash and I know how difficult it is to get a new job.”

“So it was just that one guy, or…?”

“I dunno… Lately things have been getting to me a lot more than usual. I blamed it on my heat first, but it’s just… I guess I’m just fed up with all of it. These fucking collars,” he almost snarled the word, “and the injustice and the dehumanization… Sometimes I just want to walk up to the fucking citadel and tear down that fucking sham of a king.”

Gladio slammed his fist against the doorway. “Fuck… I wish it was just that simple.”

Prompto gave him an understanding and apologetic look. “I know how you feel. I mean, about the injustice, not about the sleazy alpha’s. At least I don’t have that problem.”

Gladio sighed. “I think I’m gonna grab something to eat. Have you eaten?”

“No. Could you make enough for three?”

“Sure. Who’s the third?”

Noctis sat up from where he’d been resting his head in Prompto’s lap.

“Oh…” Gladio’s eyes lingered on Noctis’ hair for a second before they moved on to his face. “Hi, it’s you. What happened to your hair?”

“I was _trying_ to fix it,” Prompto said.

“And here I thought it couldn’t get worse.”

Noctis frowned and pouted.

Gladio made dinner for the three of them. Prompto helped with anything that didn’t have to do with flammable stuff, and Noctis set the table.

“Do you have a name?” Gladio asked Noctis.

“He’s okay with being called Noctis,” Prompto said.

“Well, damn. He sorta looks like the prince, actually. More gaunt and less princely, but there’s something with the eyes.”

Noctis looked away from his imploring gaze and self-consciously hid behind his bangs.

They ate together and had such a nice time that Prompto forgot all about the fact that he had planned to introduce Noctis to Ignis slowly. That way it was more probable that he’d agree to let him stay. But while they ate, Ignis came back, and Prompto didn’t have time to hide Noctis.

“Hi!” Prompto greeted Ignis when he came into the kitchen, looking pale and tired like he always did after a long, stressful day at the restaurant.

Ignis looked surprised at Prompto’s overly bright greeting. “Hi?”

Then his eyes landed on Noctis. Like Gladio had done, Ignis eyes lingered for a moment too long on Noctis’ hair.

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before. I’m Ignis.”

He extended his hand, but Noctis shied away from it. He slipped off his chair and disappeared under the table. Ignis looked utterly stunned in the wake of such strange behavior.

“He doesn’t like you after that time you chased him out of the house, remember?”

“So this is your little hobo friend,” Ignis said. He placed his hands on his hips. “I trusted that you wouldn’t give away more than your own share of food, but to bring him into the house as well?”

Prompto shrank under Ignis’ fiery gaze.

“You must understand that he can’t stay here. We have trouble enough feeding three people, much less one that can’t pay for himself.”

Noctis clutched Prompto’s leg under the table.

“Can’t we at least let him stay under our roof so that he doesn’t have to freeze at night?” Prompto said. “It’s winter soon, and if he has to stay outside… I can give him my share of the food, we don’t have to make three portions!”

“Are you listening to yourself?” Ignis sounded exasperated. “What do you think happens when you eat only half of what you’re supposed to? You’re skinny enough as you are. We can’t just take in people whom we know nothing about, especially not when we can barely take care of ourselves.”

Ignis stepped away from the doorway and looked down at Noctis.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave. Now. Come on.”

Noctis was about to stand but Prompto grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down again.

“No! No, you can’t do it, Ignis. Please. He’ll die.”

Ignis sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He rubbed his forehead.

“Fine. Fine, let him stay, but I don’t want to see him at the dinner table.”

With that Ignis marched out of the kitchen, leaving Gladio and Prompto in stunned silence.

 

\-----

 

“It’s okay,” Prompto reassured Noctis. “Ignis will come around. He takes care of our economy and he’s always really worried about it, but I know we can manage this. I’ll just work longer shifts, then I’ll be able to afford to buy you some food.”

Noctis just looked really miserable. 

The next morning he was gone.

 

\-----

 

Noctis didn’t return the next day, nor the one after that.

“He’s probably just off leeching on someone else,” Ignis said. “Just wait, you’ll see that he returns in no time.”

“No one else is crazy enough to take in an uncollared omega,” Prompto bit out. “He left because he’s such a good person he didn’t want to cause us trouble, and _you_ accuse him of being a leech!”

Ignis sighed.

“I’m sorry, Prompto, but this is life. Do you have any idea how many homeless people there are out there? You can’t set out to save people like that. You’ll work yourself into pieces and end up just like them yourself.”

“I just wanted to help him,” Prompto bit out. “He was special.”

“That’s what you said about that drunkard on the corner that you used to give all your pocket money.”

Prompto pressed his lips together.

Okay, so maybe he could be a little too softhearted, but Noctis really was special.

 

\----

 

A week passed without any sign of Noctis, then two, and then a month. Prompto was certain that something bad had happened. He watched the news every day looking for some small note about anyone dead that had a description that could fit Noctis’. He had to stop after a while because there was too many that could have been him. Too many nameless people who just got a short notice, brushed away in death as they had been in life.

Then one night, Prompto woke up because of a strange sound. He sat up in bed and listened. There it was again. It was the sound of a small rock hitting his window. He shot to his feet and threw open the window. On the ground below the window, in the freshly fallen snow, Noctis sat crouched. He looked up at Prompto with a careful smile, but was only partly successful due to his split lip.

“Oh, God…!”

Prompto hurried outside and steadied Noctis in through the patio door. He sat him down on the couch and turned on the light. Noctis blinked in the sharp light. One eye was swollen shut and he had a huge cut on his forehead that had bled over his whole face.

“Who did this to you?” Prompto bit out.

Noctis shrugged and shook his head.

“I’ll wake up Ignis,” Prompto said. “He needs to look at you.”

Noctis’ eyes grew wide. He shook his head.

“Don’t worry, Ignis used to be a doctor. He might act strict but he would never dream of turning you away when you’re like this.”

Ignis took Noctis to the kitchen where he proceeded to wash and stitch his wounds. Noctis had a fractured arm so Ignis made him a makeshift cast. They couldn’t risk sending him to an actual hospital because he had no papers and no collar. He would end up in jail.

It was silently agreed that Noctis could stay. Not even Ignis was so stern that he could send Noctis away like this.

“You can sleep in my bed,” Prompto said. “Come here.”

Noctis curled up next to him and with a sigh he fell asleep, his pain presently dulled by some strong sedative Ignis had given him.


	4. Heat

Noctis stayed with them after that. Ignis even made dinner especially for him, to ‘get his health up’. Prompto was worried he’d kick Noctis out the second he recovered, but Noctis healed at a surprisingly quick rate and Ignis never mentioned anything about him leaving.

Prompto was really enjoying having Noctis there. Even though he didn’t speak, it was like Prompto often knew what he was trying to say. It was as though he understood him on a different level. But if Noctis still had problems getting something across, he would write it. His handwriting was surprisingly neat which suggested that he once had a good education.

One evening, they were all together in the living room. Prompto were sitting on the couch and Noctis had his head in Prompto’s lap. Prompto absently carded his fingers through Noctis’ hair while he read a book. Ignis was reading in the chair next to them, and Gladio was working out on the only space that was big enough for him in the entire house, on the floor behind the couch and in front of the door to the hall. He was tirelessly working through a series of a hundred push-ups.

Everyone was calm and content. Then, suddenly, a soft purr came from Noctis. Prompto stopped petting him and just stared at him. Ignis looked briefly up from his book.

“Uh… Do you hear it too?” Prompto asked the two others.

“Yes,” Ignis said. “What about it?”

“I’ve never heard someone _purr_ before!”

“Omega’s do that sometimes, when they’re really content. Even Gladio does it.”

“Really?” Prompto turned to look at Gladio over the back of the couch. “ _You_ purr? I’ve never heard it.”

Gladio stood and snorted haughtily, but Prompto detected a small blush on his cheeks.

“He does when he’s with me,” Ignis said, undeterred by the sudden hostility in Gladio’s gaze. “He’s never done it with you?”

“No!” Prompto pouted. “I wanted to experience that too.”

“I’ve never done something like that,” Gladio grumbled.

“It’s cute, Gladio,” Ignis said.

“Well, I don’t do _cute_.”

“If you say so.”

Ignis was probably perfectly aware that his nonchalant tone only angered Gladio more, but he also knew that there was no way for Gladio to rebuff him. Typical Ignis to make sure that he always won an argument.

Prompto continued petting Noctis, who undeterred continued purring.

 

\-----

 

Omega’s usually had very neat and orderly cycles. Once a month they had a heat, and it lasted for about three days. Alpha’s, on the other hand, could never quite prepare for a rut. It could start sudden if provoked, or it could build up slowly over a few days. As with heats, it usually didn’t last more than three days at its worst.

It was a while since Ignis had his, so it wasn’t surprising that he went into one now that there suddenly were two omega’s around him, one of them which scent he hadn’t quite adjusted to yet.

He and Gladio disappeared into Gladio’s room in the morning one day, and didn’t come out even for dinner. Noctis didn’t seem to understand quite what was happening. He sent quizzical glances towards Gladio’s door and at dinner he presented four plates and looked at Prompto, as though asking if they would be joining them. Prompto shook his head.

“They’re working through Ignis’ rut.”

Noctis looked quizzical. Prompto wondered how long he’d been out of the loop if he didn’t even know that much. 

“They’re having sex. You know how that works, right?”

Noctis became bright red. He looked really flustered. Then he put the stack of plates on the table and stormed out.

Later in the evening Prompto walked past the hallway, and stopped in the doorway when he saw Noctis standing outside Gladio’s door with a fixed expression on his face. He was apparently listening intently. Even from where he stood, Prompto could hear the moans and the creaking of the bed.

Noctis clutched the sleeve of his sweater. It had been Gladio’s, so it was far too big for him. Ignis had thrown away Noctis only set of clothes and had suggested that they should all donate old clothes that they didn’t use anymore to Noctis, so now all the clothes he owned had belonged to one of them.

Noctis shook his head, like he was having an internal debate, and hurried on down the hallway and slipped into the bathroom.

 

\-----

 

“Do you think he’s never had sex?” Prompto asked.

He and Ignis were in the living room, unpacking Christmas decorations.

“Unlikely,” Ignis said. “He’s old enough to have had his first heat, and one way or another, it would lead to sex. Sooner rather than later.”

“Then he must have had a bad experience.” Prompto felt anger boil in him just at the thought of someone forcing themselves on Noctis.

Ignis hesitated. His nimble fingers were at work untangling a chain of fairy lights. “I would say it’s very likely judging by the way he reacted to your question, but of course, it could just be that he’s grown up in a piteous family that condemned sex before marriage, or that he’s unusually shy about it for other reasons.”

“But it’s unlikely…?”

“Nothing is unlikely. We know very little about him.”

“What does he do during his heats, then? If he’s never had sex and blushes just at the thought of it?”

“I guess we’ll soon find out. He’s almost been here a month.”

 

\-----

 

Noctis did go into heat not long after that. There was always a bit of tension in the air when an omega that was new in a group that had more than one alpha in it, went into heat. Ignis was starting to get more used to Noctis’ scent but he hadn’t been around during Noctis’ heats yet. Prompto had felt Noctis’ heat-scent while he was outside, but inside it got so much more potent. Ignis and Prompto were prepared for it though, and they knew each other so well that they didn’t feel so strongly the instinctual need to fight over Noctis, but Prompto knew that if Ignis suddenly decided that he wanted Noctis, he would easily outmatch Prompto.

In their home, it was Ignis who was highest in the hierarchy. He didn’t flaunt his advantage, but it became obvious in certain situations, like that time when he had ordered Noctis to leave. Gladio was second in the hierarchy, and Prompto had used to be lowest, but now Noctis had taken that place.

Had Prompto been living with someone else, someone less kind than Ignis and Gladio, he might very well have lost Noctis a long time ago. Although he would have tried to fight Ignis, he knew he would have lost, and many omega’s were drawn to the strongest alpha.

Still, even though Prompto was certain Ignis would never do something like that, the three days that followed were tense. Prompto tried to stay away from Ignis as much as possible, and he got extremely vary if Ignis came too close to his room, where Noctis was holed up.

Ignis started working late in order to make it easier for everyone, and Prompto was eternally grateful for it.

But it wasn’t only the alpha rivalry that was causing trouble for Noctis’ heat. The heat in itself seemed to be difficult enough for Noctis. It started out like it normally did, with heated skin, sweating and a desire to hole up somewhere dark and warm. Prompto gave Noctis space except when he offered him a cool cloth or some water, which Noctis willingly accepted.

Then things started getting weird. Normally, an omega would be desperate to get off during this time. Prompto had half expected to be invited to help with that, but no such thing happened. It wasn’t a big deal. Some omega’s were shyer than others, and Prompto supposed they didn’t really know each other that well yet. The weird thing was that Noctis wasn’t even trying to get himself off.

Prompto went to Gladio for advice.

“He’s acting weird. He just whimpers and bends forward on his knees and doesn’t touch himself, and if I try to touch him he just shrinks away.”

Gladio scratched his cheek. “Sounds strange, but I’ve heard that some omega’s can get really confused during their heats. It’s weird that he doesn’t touch himself, though…”

“Maybe he doesn’t know how…?”

Gladio laughed. “I doubt it. It’s too instinctual. Most have problems keeping their hands away.”

Prompto was getting a bad feeling about it all. It seemed that Noctis had had some bad experience during his heat at some point, and it was interfering with his heat, making it more painful than it needed to be. Prompto wished he could help him somehow, but as long as Noctis pushed him away he didn’t have a chance. He would just have to wait and see.


	5. The Prince

Life continued on and soon Noctis felt like a natural addition to their little group. Now that he was starting to recover, Prompto expected Ignis to start nagging about Noctis getting a job, so he could help them keep afloat economically, but he never did. One day Ignis called Prompto to his room in order to talk to him in private, and Prompto realized why Ignis hadn’t suggested a job for Noctis.

“I think he might be the prince.”

“Huh?”

“The _actual_ prince, Prompto. The one that disappeared five years ago.”

“What? No way! He doesn’t behave princely at all, and he was living in our back yard for half a year.”

Ignis sighed. “Are you really that dim? The similarities are too many to be a coincidence. He answers to the name you gave him, he is the same age, he has the same looks, and the backstory of the prince fits very well with how he behaves.”

“His backstory?”

“I’ve looked into what happened to the prince five years ago when the king died. You probably remember the scandal about him that so conveniently became public almost the second his father had died?”

“Yeah, a sex-scandal?”

“Precisely. After the death of our former king, prince Ravus of Tenebrae stood ready to claim the throne. There was only one ‘small’ bump in the road; there was one person who had a much stronger claim to the throne than him. Lucky for Ravus, the prince was an omega and because of it, the public and the council already looked down upon him. All Ravus needed to do was to wait for the prince to conveniently make a very big mistake, which was enough to claim Noctis unfit to rule. After that we heard nothing more of it. I had to do a lot of digging to find out where Noctis had ended up, but I finally gathered intel that he ended up at _this_ place.”

Ignis pointed to his computer screen. It showed a webpage for something called The Cure. It seemed innocuous enough, like some kind of resort.

“It wasn’t easy to find out what this place is really about,” Ignis continued. “The webpage claims that they help wound up omega’s relax in a calming and cleansing environment.”

Prompto frowned. “Wound up omega’s?”

“Judging by how Noctis acts now as opposed to how he was before; a normal, sullen teenager, I can only glean what must have been done to him there.”

“Do you think that they that made him this way?” Prompto asked. He felt his body grow hot with anger. “That they broke him?”

Ignis nodded. “I think so.”

“But… then he must have escaped from the facility somehow.”

“It would certainly explain why he’s been hiding in the woods.”

Prompto sat down heavily on the edge of Ignis’ bed.

“What are we gonna do?”

“I’m not sure yet. There’s still a chance that he isn’t the prince, so there’s no point in starting to plan anything just yet. In any case he should hold a very low profile. Now it’s even more important that no one starts to ask questions about him.”

“Do you really think he’s the prince?” Prompto said. “I mean… He looks a bit like him, but to be honest I don’t really remember the prince that well. He wasn’t in the media very often and it’s been five years since anyone saw him. He could have changed a lot.”

“It’s unfortunate that he prince was never a very public presence… or perhaps fortunate in the sense that few will recognize him easily. From the few photos I’ve managed to gather – despite the fact that the web almost seems deliberately scoured of his photos – it’s easy to see that the similarity is astounding.”

“Can you show me a picture?”

Ignis looked up a picture that seemed to have been taken when the prince was around fifteen. He looked gangly and a bit shy, and he was gazing down and away from the camera, but even with the stylish hair and the sleek, expensive clothes, there was a striking similarity to their Noctis. It wasn’t just the face, but the way he held himself too.

“Fuck,” Prompto muttered. “We’re in deep shit. If someone finds out that we’ve been hiding him…”

“Are you considering turning him in?”

“No way! Are you…?”

“No. As a matter of fact, I think we can use this to our and his advantage.” Ignis looked over at Prompto. “Think about it. We’re sitting here with the rightful heir to the throne on our hands; the only person who can threaten Ravus. If we play our cards right we could manage to place him on the throne.”

“But he’s still an omega,” Prompto said. “He was kicked because of that scandal. Do you think he can just come back to power after that?”

“If we can prove that he was deemed unfit to rule on false grounds we might have a chance. I’m pretty sure the sex scandal was fabricated; it was too timely. There’s something else as well… Something we might be able to use in our favor… A lot of evidence points towards the former king being assassinated. He wanted equality between alpha’s, omega’s and beta’s. I don’t know how much you remember from school? Many years ago, before we were born, the scale was uneven in the different end. Alpha’s were considered the best candidates for leading positions and alpha kings were favored. Omega’s were even more oppressed than they are now and beta’s were just considered genetically faulted. Then the beta’s and the omega’s rioted against the oppression and all alpha leaders were eradicated.”

“I remember that we in high school learned about how alpha’s once oppressed everyone else,” Prompto said. “At the time I hadn’t presented and I remember how I disliked them. But then I turned out to be one myself. It felt like a punishment.”

“I had somewhat the same experience. That’s why I started digging, to find out why this had happened and why we got all the hate that came our way. It was really bad, but now it’s starting to become just as bad, just in a different way. Beta kings became favored after the riots, and for a while it worked out. Until the beta leaders decided that alpha’s and omega’s were a obstacle to a peaceful society. They started entertaining ideas for restricting us so that our animalistic instincts shouldn’t interfere with their plans.

The former King, Regis Lucis Caelum, did not agree to these ideas. He refused to agree to putting these plans into life. The council must have been frustrated. They knew that Ravus Nox Fleuret, the prince of Tenebrae and the obvious candidate to the throne had King Regis been childless, would have gladly supported their plans. Tenebrae, as you know, was put under Lucian control many years ago. It isn’t entirely farfetched to think that they might have ordered the assassination of their king and fabricated the scandal that put their prince out of the way in order to set their candidate on the throne.”

Prompto sat there speechless.

“Wow… I… That’s… That’s a pretty radical idea.”

“This isn’t just my idea. There are many more out there who questions the death of a beloved king. If it had been possible to prove that the rumors are true, then it would be imaginable to chuck Ravus off the throne. Now… If we really have the crown prince on our hands, then he must be sitting on a lot of information that could give us an advantage.”

There was a sound from the doorway, just a small rustle. Prompto and Ignis turned towards it and there stood Noctis. He was clutching the doorway and looked at them from underneath his bangs. Prompto had to catch his breath. He looked uncannily like the man in the photo; the prince.

“How much did you hear?” Ignis asked gently.

The way Noctis looked away with a wrinkle between his eyebrows told them he’d heard enough.

“Are we right in our assumptions?” Ignis asked. “Are you Noctis Lucis Caelum?”

Noctis hesitated before nodding.

Ignis let out a relieved sigh. “Can you tell us what really happened to you?”

Noctis pointed to his throat.

“I know you can’t speak, but are you willing to answer our questions truthfully?”

Noctis nodded again.

He sat down on the bed next to Prompto. Ignis leant forward in his chair.

“Was the accusations directed at you a fraud?”

Noctis nodded, a grim look on his face.

“Do you think your father was assassinated?”

Tears collected in Noctis’ eyes. He blinked them away and nodded.

“Shit,” Prompto nodded. “Did you… see it?”

Noctis hesitated, then he nodded.

“I’m sorry,” Prompto said.

“Do you think our plan has any way of working?” Ignis asked. “If we manage to bring all this into the light, will you have a chance of claiming the throne?”

Noctis shrugged. He pointed at a writing pad on Ignis’ desk. Ignis handed it to him together with a pen. Noctis wrote five words on the bad and showed it to them.

“Watch out for the Chancellor,” Prompto read.

“Ardyn Izunia?” Ignis said.

Noctis nodded. A dark expression settled on his face. He scribbled more on the pad.

‘He controls everything.’

 

\-----

 

Christmas came and went without much ado. All three of them had free from work at Christmas day and the day after, which was a novelty, so they mostly used the days to rest and eat as much food as they possibly could. Ignis had prepared excellent meals for them, sparing no expenses. On Christmas day they just lounged around in their pajamas’ and exchanged gifts.

Prompto got a photography book that he’d wanted for a long time from Gladio and Ignis. They must have saved money for a long time to afford it. Gladio got new weights from Prompto and Ignis, and Ignis got a new book for his receipts; he’d almost finished his old one and they knew he liked good quality so it would take time for him to save up to a new one on his own. They had agreed to give Noctis a small gift from all of them. He looked astounded when he received it.

‘For me?’ he mouthed.

Prompto shoved it into his hands. “Open it!”

Noctis tore apart the wrapper. He gaped down at the stack of clothes in his lap.

“It’s not anything special,” Prompto said with a blush. He had wanted to get Noctis something that was more personal but he didn’t know what, and Ignis’ suggestion had obviously been the more logical one since Noctis only owned ill-fitted second-hand clothes.

Noctis hugged the clothes to his chest and grinned at them with tears in his eyes.

‘Thank you,’ he mouthed.

It was strange to think that this shy, humble man was actually a prince.

 

\-----

 

In the beginning of January, Prompto received a note from his mother. It was the first time he’d heard from his parents since five years ago, when they kicked him out of the house saying he was old enough to manage on his own. He’d been sixteen at the time. Prompto had a suspicion that they just wanted him out of their lives after the new rules came in place because they didn’t want to show anyone that they had an alpha son. They were both beta’s and had never been very happy about their sons ‘inclinations’ as they called it.

Prompto was surprised they’d bothered to contact him. His father had fallen ill and it seemed he might not recover. His mother wanted him to come visit one last time. It seemed that they weren’t as coldhearted as he’d always thought.

“Will you get leave from work?” Ignis asked.

“I don’t know… But I’m going anyway. I won’t be away for more than a few days.”

Ignis looked concerned. “You’ll get fired.”

“I’ll call in sick.”

“There’s no way a doctor will vouch for you.”

“I’ll have to look ill, then.”

Ignis sighed. “I hope it’s worth it.”

Prompto hoped so too.

 

\------

 

There was barely anything short of a deadly illness that could convince a doctor that an alpha or an omega was actually sick. This stemmed from their heats and ruts. An omega or an alpha was accused for ‘pretending’ to be sick when all that ailed them was a ‘simple’ heat or rut. A heat or rut was not incentive enough to get leave from work.

“Alpha’s and omega’s are too easily driven by their instincts,” it was said. “They need to learn to control it. They can if they want to.”

Apparently, ‘controlling their instincts’ also involved ignoring their heats and ruts. Of course many of them could if they really had to, and often they did because they’d be fired it they took leave on grounds of illness too often. But that didn’t mean that they didn’t have to go through three days in excruciating pain. Prompto had been lucky in that regard. His ruts were rarely so bad he couldn’t focus on his work, though it made it more difficult and often resulted in fewer sales and less revenue. He tried to make up for it on the other days because that too was reason enough to get fired.

Because heats and ruts weren’t reason good enough to get leave from work, this had resulted in a difficulty for omegas and especially alpha’s – who didn’t have regular cycles – in getting sick leave when they were actually sick because they were accused for pretending to be sick like they did with their heats and their ruts.

In other words, Prompto’s chance of getting a sick leave was close to zero. But he had a plan. He got Ignis to help him concoct a brew that would make him horribly sick for a couple of hours. He took it right before he left to see the doctor, and by the time he was sitting in the doctor’s office he was barfing his guts out. He got a sick leave immediately. Once he left the office he was already starting to feel a little better, and he went straight to the train station. He changed his clothes, which he’d accidentally vomited on, and boarded the first train towards the town he grew up in.

 

\-----

 

It only figured that something had to go wrong once Prompto was away. He got a call from Gladio the next morning. He’d arrived too late to see his father yesterday, and his mother was staying with her sister who lived closer to the hospital so he was now staying in his childhood home alone. It brought back feelings and memories that he’d thought he’d buried a long time ago.

“I’ve got a situation here,” Gladio said.

Prompto felt chills run down his spine. “What’s happened?”

“Don’t sound so terrified. It’s just Noctis; he went into heat almost the second you left.”

A million thoughts rushed through Prompto’s head at that moment. He’d left Noctis alone when he was about to go into heat. How could he? It felt completely wrong to be so far away from him at that moment. And what about Ignis? Prompto wasn’t there to make sure that he didn’t get too close to Noctis… what if he claimed him?

“Calm down,” Gladio said. He must have guessed the exact direction of Prompto’s thoughts without hearing him utter a word. “I moved him to my room to try and save him from distracting alpha scents, and Ignis is keeping far away from him. Now he just lies curled up in my bed and whimpers. I offered to help him; I thought he might be okay with being touched by an omega, but he doesn’t want any help. I thought your voice might calm him, though.”

“Set me over to him.”

He heard a rustle and then quick, shallow breathing.

“Noctis? It’s me… I’m sorry I’m not there with you. I wish I could help you in some way… I’ll be back tonight, though, and I promise you I won’t leave your side for even a second unless you want me to.”

There was a long stretch of silence where the only thing Prompto could hear was Noctis’ breathing. Then he heard a muffled mutter. “… Prom…?”

“Yeah,” Prompto was so relieved to hear Noctis’ voice that he barely wondered about the fact that he was speaking. “Yeah, it’s me, I’m here.”

There was more shallow breathing, then a rustle.

“Why… did you leave me…?”

Prompto thought he couldn’t feel guiltier, but now he did. 

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I’ll come back as soon as I can. I promise. I love you.”

He choked out the words. He hadn’t planned to say them and hearing them out loud suddenly made him aware of how true they were. It was slightly terrifying.

He heard Noctis moan and couldn’t quite tell if it was in pleasure or in pain.

Then Gladio was on the line again. “I guess that solves the mystery of whether he could speak or not.”

“I have to go,” Prompto said. He didn’t want to, but he was here for one reason and he needed to do what he’d come for. He needed to see his father. “But just call again anytime. I’ll keep my phone on.”

 

\------

 

It turned out that Prompto’s father had been sick for a long time. He had cancer and he and his mother had known for a long time that he wouldn’t make it. Then he’d suddenly worsened and as he grew more and more fragile by the day, he had begged Prompto’s mother to contact their son. He wanted to see him one last time.

His mother barely looked at him when he entered the hospital room where his father lay. His father wasn’t awake yet. He looked dwarfed in the big hospital bed. His cheeks were sunken and the hands resting on his stomach looked like they belonged to a skeleton. Prompto felt tears gather in his eyes. He sat down in a chair at the opposite side of the bed from his mother. He tried to catch her eyes, but she just stared intently down at her husband. The silence stretched. Prompto scratched his throat where the red collar dug into his skin. It was a little too tight on him.

He looked up just in time to see his mother stare at the collar as though it was something horribly offensive. She quickly averted her eyes when Prompto looked at her. They sat there in continued silence for what felt like days until the sick man finally woke up. His eyes were hazy and he didn’t seem to recognize Prompto at first. Then he blinked and recognition glinted in his eyes.

“My boy,” he rasped and placed a knobby hand over Prompto’s.

Prompto couldn’t stop the tears. He tried to smile.

“Dad…”

“I wanted… I needed… to see you again… once… before I go…” His father wheezed. “Your mother… didn’t agree…”

“I just thought it would be too much of a strain for you,” Prompto’s mother hurried to say. “It’s been so long… What’s in the past should stay in the past.” She cast a quick look at Prompto before she looked away again.

“I can’t… forget…” The old man wheezed. He was much older than his wife, who wasn’t Prompto’s biological mother but had married his father when Prompto was too young to remember.

“The past… it must be… righted…”

He clutched Prompto’s hand with a surprisingly firm grip.

“I’m so sorry… so sorry… I’ve done things…”

He started wheezing worse than before and the nurse came rushing in. She put him in a sedated sleep.

“I’m afraid that’s enough for today,” she said.

Prompto stayed for a little while longer. When he finally got to his feet, his mother followed him into the hallway.

“I’m keeping stock of every object in that house,” she said. “So don’t even try any funny business. I’ll know it was you.”

Prompto clenched his jaws tight together in order to check his tongue.

“I won’t stay there any longer,” he said. “I’m leaving tonight.”

“You won’t even see your father for more than a day?”

“If I’m gone from work any longer, I’ll get fired.”

“That’s rubbish. Didn’t you tell them you were seeing your sick father?”

“They don’t care,” Prompto bit out.

“Of course they do! They can’t fire you on such unreasonable grounds!”

“Mom, the law is different for alpha’s and omega’s.”

Her mouth moved like that of a fish on land. Then it turned into a firm line.

“No matter. Do as you please. You were always an ungrateful child.”

She turned on her heel and walked away from him. Prompto was too stunned to say a word. He just felt hollow and used and so, so tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not too happy about how this chapter turned out *sigh*... I hope that everything makes sense, though, and let me know if something is unclear ^^


	6. The King

Prompto came back home at two o’clock in the night. He locked himself inside and walked quietly to his room. He found it empty and for a second he panicked a bit before he remembered that Gladio said he’d taken Noctis to his room. He cracked open the door to Gladio’s room and peeked inside. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness, but he could make out the outline of two bumps under the sheets. He heard Gladio’s snoring… and Noctis’ soft whimpering.

“Noct?” He called quietly so that he wouldn’t wake Gladio.

The sheets rustled and an unkempt head stuck up from underneath them.

“Hey… Wanna come over to my room?”

Noctis got out of the bed on nimble feet. Prompto was surprised to see him naked.

“Oh… Uh…”

Noctis looked at him shyly and tried to cover himself. He looked around but had no way of finding his clothes in the mess. Prompto shrugged off his jacket and offered it to Noctis. He led him to his room and closed the door behind him.

“You can sleep next to me,” Prompto said. “If you’re comfortable with it.”

Noctis’ eyes were wide. He was shivering. Prompto handed him a fresh t-shirt and sweats from the closet.

“Here. You can sleep where you want to, but if you sleep next to me I won’t touch you, I promise.”    

Noctis dressed and slid under the sheets. He looked up at Prompto over the top of the sheets with the same, shy look from before. Prompto put on pajama pants and laid down next to Noctis.

“Do you wanna try to sleep? Or should I get you anything?”

Noctis shook his head. He snuggled closer to Prompto and subtly drank in his scent.

“You can come closer,” Prompto said. He bared his throat. “Here.”

Noctis hesitantly moved closer. Their eyes met and for a second, Prompto thought that Noctis was about to kiss him. But then averted his gaze and in stead angled his face down so that his nose was almost buried in the crook of Prompto’s neck. He breathed in a sight of relief, and soon he drifted off to sleep.

 

\-----

 

There was one thing Prompto had failed to take into account. The journey had been tolling and stressing, and that combined with Noctis heat, started his rut. During the night it quickly developed into something of terrifying proportions. He woke in a red haze, every nerve in his body singing, Noctis’ scent in his nose, infusing his very being so strongly that he felt dizzy and confused.

He felt Noctis strain in his grip. When he realized that he was clutching him, he let go of him with some effort. ‘I promised not to touch him,’ he thought. ‘But I broke the promise.’

Guilt mingled with the other red-hot feelings inside of him.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I didn’t mean to…”

Noctis slipped out of the bed and kneeled on the floor, forehead pressed to the carpet. Prompto just stared. Noctis remained like that, eerily quiet. Even his breathing was quiet. Prompto reached out and tentatively touched his shoulder. Noctis shuddered and jerked away. It was the same position he’d assumed during his heat the last time too. In the beginning, Prompto had just thought it was the customary “please take me” posture that some omega’s reverted into during heat, but now he started realizing that it had nothing to do with that. This was a position of submission, but in a piteous way. Noctis wasn’t asking to be touched, he was asking forgiveness for _wanting_ to be touched.

It started dawning on Prompto exactly how broken Noctis had been during The Cure. He wanted to go to that facility and tear everything there apart until there was nothing left of it but dust.

 

\-----

 

“He’s the prince?” Gladio looked skeptical. He measured Noctis with his eyes. “He doesn’t exactly look princely.”

Noctis pouted.

“He’s been surviving on his own in the woods for God knows how long,” Ignis said. “And before that, he was in a place – a facility – that… I don’t know what they did to him, but…”

Noctis stood abruptly. He shook his head. He didn’t want to hear more about it.

“Well, if you guys believe him, then I guess I do too,” Gladio said. “I have to admit, there’s an eerie alikeness.”

“That was the next point on my agenda,” Ignis said. He put a couple of bottles on the table. “We need to alter his appearance a bit, just in case.”

Noctis looked at the bottles with skepticism.

“Hair dye?” Prompto said.

“Yes,” Ignis said. “And someone needs to fix that crows nest of his, it has been irking me for far too long.”

Ignis turned out to be much better hairdresser material than Prompto. Noctis was hardly recognizable afterwards. His hair was white as snow and neatly cut to resemble his old hairstyle, only a bit shorter. Noctis seemed to like having bangs to hide behind, so they still remained.

“Ten out of ten,” Prompto said. “You look gorgeous.”

Noctis grinned and blushed a bit.

 

\-----

 

It was dinner-time and they were all, for once, assembled by the table. They were eating in relative silence, each in their own thoughts.

Noctis picked at his food.

“What’s this?” he said with clear disgust, holding up a piece of sliced carrot on his fork.

The other three stopped eating and just stared at him for a moment. They were so used to the fact that he couldn’t talk, that hearing him speak almost felt a bit absurd. Prompto heard his voice clearer now than he’d done over the phone, and it was strange to hear such an unfamiliar voice come from a person he knew so well.

“That is a carrot,” Ignis said drily.

Noctis frowned and dropped it on the plate.

“I thought you liked carrots,” Prompto said. “You raided my vegetable garden for them, remember?”

“That time I was desperate, “Noctis said and started picking every little piece of carrot out of his meal.

Ignis gave Prompto a dissatisfied look, like he was expecting Prompto to teach Noctis manners. Prompto just shrugged helplessly.

“You can’t exactly afford to be picky,” Ignis said to Noctis. “You’re living here for free. I made this food for you without complaining, even though you didn’t lift a finger to help. Is it too much to ask that you at least pretend to enjoy the food?”

“Don’t put carrots in it next time, Specs.” Noctis gave Ignis a cheeky grin. “Then I won’t need to pretend to like it.”

Gladio snorted.

Prompto had to stop a chuckle behind his hand.

Ignis just blushed and pushed his glasses up his nose. To everyone’s surprise, he didn’t put Noctis in his place. He didn’t attempt to make him eat the carrots either.

 

\-----

 

After that first time when Noctis talked, it seemed that his ability to speak came and went. If he was calm and relaxed and didn’t think much about it, he could talk easily. But if he got stressed or very self-conscious, he was unable to get out a word. Ignis said that his muteness most probably had a connection with a traumatic experience in his life.

Sometimes he could be quiet for days, other times there were no limits to how talkative he was.

He seemed to have difficulties grasping the changes that had happened in the country while he had been stowed away.

“Why is it so difficult for you to get jobs?” he asked one evening.

He looked from one to the other of them.

Gladio snorted. “Why? Where you raised in a ditch?”

Ignis gave him a level glare.

“Oh, right.”

“Don’t you have good enough education?” Noctis persisted.

“I am a doctor,” Ignis said, “And Gladio is a civil engineer. Prompto is an aspiring photographer.”

“Then… Why are you in jobs you hate?”

“Because five years ago, just when I graduated, a new law took effect. It forced alpha’s and omega’s to wear visible signs of who they are, thus letting employers exclude us from jobs simply on the basis of what we are born as. There’s also a silent understanding in place in society that says alpha’s and omega’s doesn’t have the same rights as beta’s. There’s no law saying that as of yet, but it could as well have because we have absolutely no rights. No one listens to us; no one even attempts to hear us.”

Noctis looked pale in the wake of Ignis’ explanation. He got to his feet and started pacing. 

“All this happened while I was gone?”

“Yes. We can’t go outside without collars that must be visible at all times, green for omega’s and red for alpha’s.”

“For what reason?” Noctis asked.

“In order to keep track of us, I suppose,” Gladio said. “We learn to keep our head down and not make a fuss ‘cause the police are more than willing to teach us a lesson, provoked or not.”

“That’s horrible,” Noctis whispered. He kept pacing. “We need to put an end to it. This can’t go on.”

“I can’t agree more,” Ignis said. “I fear that the ultimate plan of whoever controls this is to eradicate us once and for all.”

A terse silence followed Ignis’ words.

“Is it really that bad?” Prompto asked. He felt queasy. “They can’t be _that_ cruel?”

“Believe me,” Noctis said. “They can.”

He stopped by the window overlooking the back yard and stood there, gazing outwards with distant eyes. Suddenly, he looked more like a prince than any of the well-dressed princes oozing wealth that Prompto had seen on TV. No… He looked like a king. Straight-backed, contemplative, and somehow, although he wasn’t saying a word, holding the undivided attention of every occupant in the room.

“We’re taking down Ardyn…” Noctis said, “and Ravus with him.”

”That’s impossible,” Gladio said. ”You can’t expect to be able to just walk in and take them down. You won’t even get as far as the citadel’s gates.”

Noctis turned towards them. ”I’m not gonna do that. Ignis, you had a plan, didn’t you?”

”Well… I wouldn’t exactly call it a plan, but I have a few ideas.”

”Good. Ideas are good. What have you got so far?”

“I’ve located a few more ‘curing’ centers. There exists some for alpha’s too. They operate outside of public view and only offer vague explanations of what they do… I suppose you know far too well what they actually do.”

Suddenly it was like Noctis shrunk a bit; like he tried to curl in on himself to make himself smaller. He nodded.

Ignis hurried to continue.

“I was thinking I should take a closer look at these centers,” Ignis said. He threw a glance towards Prompto. “Maybe take some photo’s.”

“Oh… Yeah, okay!” Prompto said.

“Other than that, we need to use the distrust and discontent among people to our advantage. If we can somehow spread more distrust towards the current leader, we’d be a long way ahead. Most importantly, we need to prove that the sex-scandal that had you removed from the throne is a fraud, or at least plant strong doubts in people’s mind about it. Lastly, if we could prove that your father was assassinated on the current leader’s order, our job would nearly do itself.”

“That’s not a small task,” Gladio grumbled.

“I’m aware of that, but we must keep the broader goal in mind. This can’t be done in one night, nor one year. We’ll have to be patient. But we have one great asset on our side.” Ignis looked at Noctis. “You know people. You’ve seen things. And most important of all, you know our enemies.”

Noctis nodded. “I even have an ally that I can contact. Someone whom I trust unconditionally.”

“Really? Whom?”

“Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret.”


	7. The Cure

Ignis had his doubts that he and Prompto would be allowed into The Cure, with them being alpha’s and all. Bringing an omega seemed like a bad idea too, so they decided to ask a beta to accompany them. That way they had a better hope of being taken seriously.

Cindy was a journalist and more than happy to join Ignis and Prompto on something that could become a great scoop. The Cure lay far into the wilderness, at the base of a mountain. It lived up to its outside appearance as some sort of spa resort if it hadn’t been for the lack of parking space and, not to mention, cars. On the whole the place seemed deserted.

Ignis parked the car outside the entrance and the three of them went up the wide stairs to the front doors. A woman dressed in white opened the doors for them and bowed her head demurely. “Welcome,” she murmured.

The wide archway was polished marble, just like the spacious hall they entered through it. The hall was deserted. There was no decoration on the plain walls, no rugs on the floor, and no reception.

“Do you have an appointment?” The woman asked.

“Yes, I called ahead,” Cindy said. “The name’s Cindy Aurum.”

The woman cast a look at the red collars Prompto and Ignis wore, but didn’t say anything. She led them down a long hallway that was lit up by the row of windows on one side. There were no doors. At last they reached an elevator.

“Please.” The woman showed them inside and closed the door. She pushed a button on the outside. There were no buttons inside the elevator. The elevator-ride seemed to take forever. Finally it stopped and let them out in a hallway very similar to the one they just left, but when they looked out the window, they saw that they were maybe as much as five or six floors over the ground.

Since the woman hadn’t come with them, they stood undecided for a moment, but then a voice spoke from right behind them. They turned to find a short woman with black and grey-streaked hair in a neat bun, and a black, spotless dress suit hugging her ample body.

She shook Cindy’s hand. “I’m Mrs. Maxima Inuisti. Follow me.”

She completely ignored Ignis and Prompto.

They followed her to an office right down the hallway. It was a spacious room with a chandelier and a huge wooden desk in front of a wall of windows.

“Please, be seated.”

They sat down. She gave Ignis and Prompto’s collars a long, studious look, and then she turned to Cindy.

“How can I help you?”

“Well, ma’am, I heard about this place and I’m a journalist so I thought that, hey, I’ve never heard from anyone who’s been here before and I wondered if I could have a look around, maybe hear what it is you really do here.”

“As you should know if you’ve done your research properly, we only allow omega’s in here.”

"Yeah, I found that to be a very strange rule in this day and age. Surely you can’t refuse alpha’s to come in here?”

“The reason those rules are in place is to protect the omega’s that come to this place. Letting alpha’s come in would, as you can probably guess, cause nothing but trouble.”

“Madam,” Ignis said.

Maxima turned to him with an expression bordering on distaste.

“I assure you we will be at our best behavior. We’re here to accompany Cindy. Prompto here is the photographer and I’m her assistant.”

Maxima looked them slowly up and down.

“I’m sure miss Aurum can manage on her own. As I said, I can’t let in alpha’s. It’s bad enough that you’re here in my office. I’ll have to change my clothes before I go in to the omega’s, and so will you, miss Aurum.”

Ignis’ cheeks turned bright red from embarrassment and anger.

“I didn’t catch your name,” Maxima said, barely offering Ignis a glance.

“Ignis Cinis,” Ignis lied smoothly. “And this is Prompto Adamas.”

Maxima sent Ignis and Prompto back down with the elevator, but Cindy got to stay. They hurried back to the car and drove a little away from the facility. They parked on the side of the road.

“Shame we couldn’t come with inside,” Prompto said. “I would have preferred to take some photo’s. By the way, why’d you lie about our names?”

“You can never be too careful,” Ignis said.

He opened his computer and started a live-feed program. Everything was completely dark at first, but then it cleared to show them a small changing room. It turned out Cindy had just pulled a sweater over her head.

“I can’t believe they actually made her change her clothes,” Prompto fumed.

“At least they didn’t follow her into the changing room. She had enough time to cut a hole for the camera.”

They watched as Cindy joined Maxima again and followed her into a lofty room with several neat rows of wooden tables. There were people dressed in drab, white or grey clothes by every table, but no one made a sound, and when Maxima showed up, all of them immediately stood. It was like watching a human wave with how they all moved in perfect synchronicity. They stood still and quiet as marble statues and looked straight ahead, never making eye contact.

Not even Cindy said a word. She must be feeling the oppressing silence even more keenly than Ignis and Prompto who just watched it from afar.

“This is the room where everyone enjoy their meals,” Maxima said in a soft voice. “They eat in silence, just as they do many of the other activities here. It is an expression of self-resistance and self-reflection to be able to hold one’s tongue and rather use more head-space to reflect over one’s thoughts, don’t you think?”

Cindy didn’t respond. They left the dining hall and continued down a hallway. Maxima showed Cindy many a deserted room that she claimed was used for different ‘activities’ but that were so barren that it was impossible to guess what kind of ‘activities’ that entailed.

Finally they reached the dorm room. The dorms were apparently divided between male and female omega’s. This dorm was for the girls only. Beds stood in neat rows along one wall, so many that it was impossible to count them all. There were a few girls there when they arrived, and they hurriedly lined up along the wall. There were two women dressed in brown there too. Maxima called them matrons.

“They watch over the omega’s,” she said, “to make sure they behave in an orderly manner.”

One of the girls in the line-up was red-faced and sweaty. It was obvious she was in heat. She swayed slightly on her feet. Maxima approached her slowly and perused her with cold eyes. She waved over one of the matrons. She was a large-breasted, square woman.

Maxima whispered something to her and she nodded.

“Some of the omega’s aren’t capable of even the slightest amount of self-restraint,” Maxima told Cindy conversely as they continued walking. “They moan and complain about headaches and dizziness when moments before they were perfectly fine. Usually it is nothing, but one can never be too careful.”

Cindy turned slightly, putting the camera in view of the sick girl. The matron spoke to her and grabbed her arm brusquely. Then she shoved her down on her knees.

“Come along,” Maxima said and grabbed Cindy’s arm. She turned her forcibly around and showed her out the door. “The garden is next.”

The rest of the tour passed without any interesting incidents. At last they were back by the changing rooms. Maxima stopped Cindy right outside the door to the changing room.

“It is always a pleasure to be able to show our facility to the outer world, but I already told you we don’t allow pictures or videos to be taken.”

Her hand suddenly shadowed the camera lens, and then she must have pulled the camera off Cindy because the connection broke.

“Damn,” Prompto said. “She got us.”

“It doesn’t matter. The files are saved on my computer.”

They drove back to the facility and once more stopped outside the entrance. Shortly after, Cindy came out the doors. She slid into the back seat.

“What do you think?” Prompto said. He turned halfway in his seat.

“This place gives me the chills,” she said. “And that woman… what a cold fish. Talking about self-restraint and self-reflection while all those people stood there completely mute like frightened sparrows.”

Prompto exchanged a glance with Ignis at Cindy’s choice of words. Mute in fear. It did sound familiar.

Ignis had hurried to drive off the second Cindy was inside the car. He was just as eager as the other two to get as far away from the place as he possibly could.

“But I have bad news, boys. I can’t take on this case,” Cindy said. “ That old bat threatened me the second she’d smashed the camera into the floor. Told me she knew people who could get me killed if I as much as entertained the thought of writing anything untoward about this place.”

“What?!” Prompto twisted around in his seat. “She actually said that?”

“She did, and I’ve been threatened enough times in my life to know when someone means serious business.”

 

\-----

 

”So that was a dead end,” Gladio said.

“Maybe not entirely,” Ignis said. “We at least know a little more of what Noctis went through, and we know a little more about how these people think.”

“What’s next on the agenda?” Prompto asked.

He was really starting to get into this investigation. He felt like a secret agent.

“For now, we should do some research, talk with some people, see if we can find some allies. Noctis should probably try to contact Lady Lunafreya, get some info out of her. But we should keep our heads low. You saw how suspicious that woman at The Cure got. People who’ve got something to hide easily get suspicious.”

“Where is Noctis?” Gladio asked.

“In my room,” Prompto said. “He said he wasn’t feeling well.”

“Heat?”

Prompto shrugged. Then he realized it probably had been a month since last time.

“Why aren’t you joining him?”

“He doesn’t really need me,” Prompto muttered.

“Even though he doesn’t want to have sex, he still likes to have you there. The last time, he calmed down the second he heard your voice.”

“I don’t know… It’s difficult to be there with him when I know I can’t…”

“You should go anyway,” Ignis said. “Maybe he just needs time. You never know when he really needs you.”

Prompto sighed.

“I’ll bring him some food.”

He brought some water and a protein bar from the kitchen. Noctis had opened the window in Prompto’s room but was lying under the comforter, as though he couldn’t decide whether he was hot or cold.

“Do you want me to stay?” Prompto said.

Noctis lifted the comforter and Prompto took off his sweater and got in. Noctis attached himself to Prompto’s neck immediately. He alternated between pressing his face to Prompto’s neck, and sitting up to take a drink of water or a bite of the protein bar. He rubbed his thighs subtly together and sometimes Prompto felt him start gyrating his hips before he checked himself.

“It’s okay,” Prompto said. “You don’t need to be embarrassed about your needs… not when you’re here with me.”

Noctis whined softly. He caressed the sides of Prompto’s neck with both hands. Then he bared his teeth and scraped them across Prompto’s skin in a shy attempt at a bite. It sent shivers through Prompto’s entire body.

“Yeah, that’s good,” he murmured.

Noctis wriggled his body as though he wanted to come closer, but didn’t dare to. Prompto shuffled a tiny bit closer to him, close enough that he felt the warmth from Noctis’ lower body right next to his. He wanted to pull Noctis closer, so close that their bodies touched, but he refrained from doing it. He didn’t want to touch Noctis without being allowed to, not after the last time. He needed to gain Noctis’ trust.

Noctis enjoyed making Prompto feel good. It seemed to be okay for him as long as his own body stayed detached from what was happening. He kissed and nipped at Prompto’s throat, slowly working himself upwards, over his scent glands, which made Prompto moan, and up to his jaw. Prompto tried to kiss Noctis, but he pulled away.

“Sorry,” Prompto murmured. It had been instinctive.

Noctis leant down and placed a hesitant kiss on Prompto’s cheek. He then moved downwards, along Prompto’s jawline, to his chin. There he hesitated. Prompto kept himself as still as possible. He scarcely dared breathe. Noctis’ nose bumped his lower lip. Then he felt his breath on his mouth. His heart raced in his chest. It was torture to wait for Noctis to descend, but he locked every muscle in his body with the last dregs of his willpower, and waited.

The kiss was so short that Prompto barely had time to enjoy it. Noctis’ lips were moist and soft. They pressed close for nothing more than a few seconds, a firm but gentle pressure. Prompto whined when he pulled away.

Noctis grinned shyly.

Then he settled next to Prompto again and pressed his nose against the juncture between Prompto’s neck and jaw.

Prompto clenched his hands where they lay clutched over his stomach, and tried to calm himself. He could have gotten up and gone to the bathroom, but he didn’t want to leave Noctis now that he was so content and satisfied. He wriggled his hips and rubbed his thighs together still, but not with the same abashed desperation as before. His hand rubbed almost absentmindedly over Prompto’s chest.

And then he started purring. Prompto lifted one hand and touched the back of Noctis head. He didn’t object so Prompto started carding his fingers through Noctis’ hair. It was a safe place to touch; it was meant to calm him rather than to entice him.

Noctis sighed. He was deeply content and soon he had fallen asleep.

 

\----

 

Prompto received the information of his fathers passing by letter. No one called him. His mother didn’t say a word. He received the information because it followed with the letter from his father’s lawyer, informing him of his inheritance. Prompto could do nothing but gape at the content of the letter. He had opened it by the breakfast table and the three others stared at him, waiting for him to say anything.

“What is it?” Noctis asked. “Is it about your dad?”

Prompto nodded numbly.

“Yeah… Yeah, it’s… He left me some money.”

“So he passed, then?” Ignis asked.

Prompto nodded and dried a tear from his cheek.

“My condolences.”

Gladio and Noctis muttered their condolences too.

Prompto couldn’t stop the tears that flowed. Ignis offered him a tissue.

“I…I just thought that I’d be told in person or at least… I dunno… Not like this.”

He handed the letter to Ignis.

“Oh, good God,” Ignis muttered. “He left you his entire fortune.”

Noctis rubbed Prompto’s back. “So, so…” he muttered awkwardly.

“I didn’t expect to react like this,” Prompto muttered, his voice muddled. “I mean, I cut all ties with them five years ago, and even before that I never really knew my dad that well. He and my mom, or, my stepmom, they were seldom at home.”

Ignis folded the letter. “He was still your father. There’s an invisible bond there that is difficult to severe.”

Prompto leant on Noctis’ shoulder and cried his eyes out until he was dry.

“There’s more here,” Ignis said. He took a small memory stick out of the envelope. A note was wrapped around it. Ignis handed it to Prompto.

Prompto frowned.

All the note said was; ‘To my dear son. I thought you should know.’

He hurried to his room where he shoved the memory stick into the computer. The stick contained only one unnamed file. When Prompto opened it, the first thing he saw was a document named ‘Prompto’. He clicked on it and skimmed through the text. It was addressed to him, like a letter.

Its content was shocking, to put it mildly.

Noctis found him in the same spot and hour later, leant over the desk with his head in his hands.

“Are you okay?” Noctis asked.

Prompto took a deep breath.

“He… He wasn’t my father… He…” He bit his teeth together. “I’m his clone.”

Noctis shuffled his feet. “… What?” He sounded as incredulous as Prompto had felt for the past hour.

“He cloned himself. I’m his _clone,_ not his son!”

He slapped one hand over his mouth. The tears were streaming again.

“This is too much,” he muttered.

Noctis placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I never had a mother!” Prompto babbled. “She didn’t die when I was a kid; she was never there! I’ve missed my mother my whole life, and then it turns out she never existed!”

Noctis muttered soothing words, but Prompto barely heard him.

“There’s more…” Prompto said once he had calmed down a bit. “There were a lot of pictures and documents attached. I think Ignis and Gladio should see it too.”

Noctis hurried to get the two others.

Prompto showed them the content of the folder; every report, picture and correspondence that his father had downloaded on the memory stick. It didn’t take long to realize that Prompto’s father had worked with Niflheim earlier. Most notably he had worked on a project together with the Chancellor, who at that time cooperated with Niflheims emperor.

“They studied alpha and omega genes,” Prompto said. “On the emperor of Niflheims orders. It seems that they were trying to find a way to stop the gene from forming, so that alpha’s and omega’s would stop getting born altogether.”

He felt a chill settle in his stomach as he spoke.

“My father left the research team some time after he finished the cloning experiment. In one e-mail he claims that he couldn’t stand continuing the experiments on his own sons. I think he was in hiding the entire time he stayed in Lucis”

Everyone went quiet as they let this sink in.

Ignis went through every document to make sure he could glean as much as possible from the information they had at hand.

“We could use this to our advantage,” he said at long last. “It gives us something to start with, and something to pin on Ardyn. There are evidence here that could be enough to put him in a very bad light, but we need more than that. The fact that he used to work for Niflheim is a thread we can pursue. If we could gather proper evidence of it, we would have a strong bargaining chip on our hands.”

“That alpha/omega eradication business makes me sick,” Gladio said. “They actually use those exact words.”

“It has already been plans of starting to eradicate male omega’s and female alpha’s at an early stage, since they’re so easily recognizable,” Prompto said.

Noctis looked as grim and ashen as the rest of them, but he said nothing. Prompto had a feeling that he couldn’t, even if he had wanted. His shoulders were tense and his hand clutched Prompto’s shoulder almost painfully.

Ignis took a look at the three shell-shocked men around him. He squeezed Prompto’s hand.

“Maybe that’s enough for one day,” he said mildly. “I think you might be in shock.”

Prompto felt completely numb as Noctis led him to bed. He was thankful that Noctis was there, holding him through the night, because he didn’t get a wink of sleep.

 

\-----

 

For the next few weeks, they were hard at work developing a plan. It would be difficult, and it would take time, but if they were careful and patient, they might just be victorious.

“It’s obviously difficult to get into those cure centers,” Ignis said, “but we need some proper evidence of what they’re doing there.

“We can talk with people who have been there and get their stories. There must be hundreds of them,” Prompto said.

“As long as they’re capable of talking about it.”

“It won’t be enough,” Noctis said. “The testimony from a few alpha’s and omega’s can easily be brushed away. We need to hit them somewhere they are weaker.”

They heard a bark from outside.

Noctis stood. “Just on time.”

The other three followed him to the door. Outside sat a lone dog. It wagged its tail when it saw them. It had something tucked under its collar.

Noctis grinned. “Umbra.”

The dog came up to him. Noctis grabbed what looked like a thin book or an envelope from its collar.

“Thank you,” he murmured and fed the dog a treat that he had grabbed from the kitchen. He murmured something under his breath and the pamphlet in his hand glowed white. Symbols appeared on the cover.

Prompto, Ignis and Gladio leant closer, all three mesmerized by what they were seeing.

“So it’s true,” Prompto said, awed. “The royal line is infused with magic?”

Noctis just gave him a crooked grin. “I guess you could say so.”

He opened the book and perused the pages quietly. Then he muttered something again, and new symbols appeared, these glowing blue.

He put the book back under the dog’s collar and whispered something in its ear before he told it to hurry on and be careful.

The four of them returned inside the house, where it wasn’t so chilly.

“Dare I ask what that was about?” Ignis said.

“It was a message from Luna. She’s on our side. She’ll be our eyes and ears.”

“And you can trust her completely?”

“One hundred percent. We were supposed to be married,” Noctis said. He got a faraway look on his face. His blue eyes clouded with the shadow of old pain. “As per longstanding tradition, the king marries an oracle, thereby merging the two aspects of humanity; matter and energy, light and shadow, yin and yang… whatever you want to call it. We’ve known each other for a long time, since we were still in diapers. We know each other better than we know ourselves. She would never betray me, I’m certain of it. Not even for her own brother.”

Listening to this made Prompto’s heart sink. He hadn’t even entertained the idea that maybe Noctis might be in love with someone else. The news came as a shock, but he tried to hide it.

“Do you love her?” Ignis asked. “Would you still like to marry her?”

“… I love her as a friend and if I could choose I wouldn’t marry her. Besides, us both being omega’s makes it sort of difficult.”

Noctis threw a quick glance in Prompto’s direction. Prompto felt his jaw unclench. He felt almost mellow with relief and silently thanked Ignis for sorting it all out so quickly.  

Noctis stood in front of them and looked from one to the other of his three friends.

“Are your really sure that you’re behind me on this?” he asked. “Once we’ve started, there’s no going back. Either we win, or we die trying.”

Prompto gulped. It suddenly became clear to him how risky what they were doing was, but there was no way he was turning back. He would watch the world burn before he bowed down for the atrocities that awaited them if they did nothing. He straightened his back, squared his shoulders, and met Noctis eyes without a shadow of fear. Noctis smiled when he saw the fearlessness of his friends. Once again he looked like a king: back straight, head held high, demeanor calm and sure.

”Let them know we’re coming,” Noctis said. ”Let’s make the prophecy come true: ’When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come.’”


	8. The Plan

_Fifteen months later_

 

Prompto woke up from a fitful sleep. The first rays from the sun were shining bright and insistent through the slots of the blinds. He blinked and groaned. He couldn’t remember his dream, but it left a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach. He sat up, careful not to jostle Noctis, and went to the bathroom.

Incredibly enough, Noctis had gotten out of bed by his own volition and was dressed when Prompto came back into the room. Their double room was small but had a nice view over the center of Insomnia. Prompto pulled up the blinds and booted his computer while Noctis was in the bathroom.

He connected to the network that Talcott had set up and soon he had contact with Ignis.

“Everything in order?”

“Yes, we’re on schedule. Leaving in five.”

“Good.”

They took stock and got the confirmation that everything was going according to their plan at the moment. Then they disconnected. Prompto put the computer into his messenger bag and hooked it over his shoulder over his blue blazer. He put on a beanie and sunglasses. As soon as he picked up a cup of coffee at the coffee shop on the corner, he would look the part of an ordinary college student on his way to his early lecture. Noctis was dressed in black, as usual; a trench coat casually put on over a black boat-neck jumper and black jeans. He looked stunning without even trying.

“I thought we agreed not to catch unwanted attention,” Prompto said drily.

Noctis slipped on a pair of sunglasses. “I can’t hide myself more than I already am,” he said flippantly. “I think I’d garner more attention with a paper-bag over my head.”  
Prompto elbowed him. “Cocky.”

Noctis laughed. “You started it.”

They went downstairs to the coffee shop on the corner, Prompto’s red collar hidden deep inside his messenger bag.

 

\-----

 

For the past year they’d been steadily spreading mistrust towards the leaders of Lucis through a website that, thanks to Gladio’s cousin Talcott, had been impossible to shut down. In the beginning the website had been mostly ignored by the general public. People didn’t put much trust in what they deemed conspiracy theories, and those who believed in it were too few or gleaned too little respect to be heard.

They had been aware of this when they started. They had deliberately started off with the less hard-hitting information they were sitting on, but slowly and surely they leaked more and more information that was difficult for the leaders to deny. They knew that they would be hunted down, and they’d been prepared for it. They never left behind anything that could be tracked back to them.

They had to start moving around as neighbors started getting more and more suspicious. Being who they were, alpha’s and omega’s, they risked being the first ones to be put in the searchlight, and sure enough a headhunt for alpha’s and omega’s commenced. This only led to widening their circle of allies as life became more and more difficult for everyone who weren’t a beta. With more allies, they also got access to more places, and more money, as some of the people that joined them were wealthy.

Now the time had finally come to up their game. Ignis had initially proposed at least two years of preparations, but finding allies had been easier than first thought. The mistrust towards the current King and his allies grew and festered like a plague. It could barely be contained any longer. The people were shouting for their true king. They were ready.

 

\-----

 

Prompto and Noctis bought one latte each, the signal that everything was all right and that the offensive had started. The girl behind the register made no sign that she recognized them; she just handed them their coffees with a smile and wished them a good day. Prompto and Noctis continued towards the University campus on the east side of town. They walked slowly, casually, and spoke about mundane things. No one looked at them twice.

Outside a shop they stopped to watch the news through the window. The video showed a SWAT team outside a rundown building. The headline read ‘Police moving in against terrorist organization leaking fake news.’

They stopped and watched, but the newscast changed to the anchorman. They exchanged glances but continued on walking. They bought pastries at a small, quaint place that Noctis claimed used to be his favorite.

“Mmm, I missed these,” he said as he bit into the soft, vanilla cream filled donut.

Prompto seldom treated himself with sweets. He ate it slowly, savoring each bite. He threw glances at Noctis. He really wanted to kiss him, but he didn’t want to garner any unwanted attention. It was important that they remained as inconspicuous as possible, hence the reason why they weren’t wearing collars. It was risky, but in the face of what they were about to do, it hardly mattered.

They walked slowly in a semi-circle, taking their time. They still had plenty of time. Prompto let his knuckles brush Noctis’ for a second. They exchanged secret smiles. Then they disposed of their empty coffee cups in a nearby trashcan.

A huge boom filled the air and the ground shook under their feet. The windows in the shops around them rattled. They stumbled. Prompto grabbed Noctis’ shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

Noctis nodded. They looked towards the direction where they’d heard the explosion. A thick column of smoke rose up in the distance, east of the citadel. Then another boom resounded through the air, but farther away and to the west. The ground still shook under their feet. People were starting to mill out from buildings, out onto the street to take stock of what was happening. Some were crying. Some were running. Others just stood and stared. In the melee, Prompto and Noctis made their way out of the throng and into a narrow side street.

Noctis looked at his watch.

“Just on time. We have ten minutes to get to the next post.”

They hurried through side streets and narrow back alleys. Noctis wound through the city as though he knew it by hand, and according to him, he did. He’d used every opportunity he could in his teens to sneak out and roam the city at night.

“I hated being coped up in that place,” he had told Prompto once. “No one ever noticed I was gone either. That’s how much they cared about me.”

They reached the newsstand by the park a couple of miles from the citadel. The man behind the register handed them a copy of Insomnia Times, which meant everything was going according to the plan. Noctis threw a quick glance on the cover of the newspaper before he rolled it up and wedged it under his arm.

Nyx, Libertus and Crowe should have the Kingsglaive in place by now. The entirely wrong place. The coast was clear. They made their way to the citadel. This was well-known territory for Noctis. He walked casually up to a small gate in the citadel walls and nodded to the guard who was on their side and immediately let them in. They wandered through the citadel garden as calmly as thought they were taking a Sunday stroll. Prompto couldn’t help but feel nervous, but Noctis looked completely calm. He took them on a winding path towards the conservatory, where he let them in through a small door on the side.

They walked on a stone-path between drooping ferns and exotic colorful flowers. The path led them along the back of the glasshouse, till they came to another inconspicuous door. This door led into a quiet, plain hallway, not at all like something Prompto had expected to see in the citadel. They heard the sound of voices and pots and pans clanking from the kitchen, but Noctis led them away from that direction and up a narrow flight of stairs. He stopped at intervals to listen, and always checked the hallway in both directions at every intersection.

At one point they almost ran down a liveried man carrying a silver tray with cutlery. They managed to stop in time not to bowl him down, but they couldn’t stop him from noticing them.

“Excuse me,” he said, eyeing them up and down with a suspicious glance. “How did you get in here?”

Noctis just smiled and reached out towards the man. He grabbed his shoulder, and suddenly the man dropped his tray, sunk to his knees, and fell unconscious to the floor.

They hurried on down the hallway.

“What was that?” Prompto hissed.

Noctis lifted his hand. Blue sparks were flying from it. “Electric impulses. He’s just unconscious.”

Prompto sidestepped Noctis’ waving hand. “Okay… Just keep that away from me.”

He’d heard of the powers that the royal line possessed, and he’d seen Noctis use them once before, but he hadn’t imagined that Noctis could do this sort of thing. It made him view him in a new light, and made him more confident about their plan.

Finally they reached a door that led into a grand hallway. It was obvious they were out of the servant’s quarter and inside the palace proper. Noctis slipped quickly into the closest room. It was a luxurious, high-ceilinged parlor furnished with antique couches and chairs in all sorts of different patterns and colors.

A blonde woman stood from one of the couches. She was dressed in an elegant white dress and her hair was piled up in a neat do on the crown of her head. This had to be Lady Lunafreya. She was undeniably beautiful.

“Noctis,” she breathed. She rushed over to them and hugged Noctis tight. “They said you had fled from The Cure, that you most probably were dead.” Her voice wavered. “I was so happy when you contacted me. It’s so good to see you.”

She held him on arms length and studied his face with a soft smile on her face. Prompto realized that he didn’t need to fear any competition from her; she looked at him with the love and care of an older sister.

“This is Prompto,” Noctis said. Luna’s gentle, open gaze settled on Prompto.

She grabbed his hand. “Thank you for taking care of him.”

Prompto blushed. “It was nothing,” he muttered.

“We have no time to lose,” she said. Her face assumed a more business-like expression. She handed them a pair of guard uniforms that had been lying folded on the couch and they quickly changed into them.

“Here,” Luna said when they were finally standing there dressed in their slightly ill fitting disguises. She squeezed something into Noctis’ hand. “He’s in the throne room,” she whispered. “Take care.”

The doors behind them opened. Noctis and Prompto turned at the same moment. In the doorway stood the current King, Ravus Nox Fleuret. His eyes swept over the people in front of him, and landed on Noctis’ face. Noctis hair had been colored black again so to anyone who knew him, he was easily recognizable.

“You?!” Ravus strode towards Noctis, too shocked about seeing him there to even register Prompto’s presence. Prompto used the opportunity to draw his gun, which he’d been carrying in his messenger bag so far, and aim it at Ravus’ head.

“Stop,” he commanded in a steely voice that surprised even himself. Ravus turned and, when he saw the gun pointed at him, froze.

Prompto’s heart beat wildly but his aim was unwavering. He had taken up shooting as a way to protect Noctis if he had to. It turned out that he was a natural talent and in the span of the past year he’d quickly honed his skills until he could hit bulls eye eight times out of ten. He was not afraid that he’d miss his mark, but he didn’t want to take a life if he could avoid it.

His voice didn’t waver as he ordered Ravus to calmly back away and sit down into one of the chairs. Noctis collected two of the curtain tiebacks. He used one of them to bind Ravus’ hands behind the chair and used the other to tie his feet.

“I’m sorry,” Luna said to Ravus. “But this is the right thing to do and you know it.”

Ravus just glared at her. “I’d never thought I’d be betrayed by my own sister.”

Noctis stuffed a piece of a tablecloth inside Ravus’ mouth.

“That’s for stealing my birthright and sending me off to that hellhole,” he bit out. He walked towards the door. “Let’s go, Prompto.”

 

\-----

 

They weren’t stopped once on their way to the throne room. At this point, their plan was leaning heavily on luck. Noctis had insisted that they needed to find the Chancellor. The whole operation rested on Ardyn’s capture. According to Noctis, they wouldn’t get anywhere without taking him out first.

“He’s not human,” he’d told them one night when they sat up late, planning. “He’s made out of malicious intent and spite.”

Prompto hadn’t been prepared for how literal that was meant.

No one noticed that they slipped quietly into the throne room, which should have been deserted at this time of day. At first glance the room did look empty, but then Prompto noticed a woman standing on top of one of the galleries beside the throne. She was a short, stout woman, and Prompto couldn’t help but feel that he’d seen her somewhere before. Then she turned towards them, and he recognized her instantly as Maxima Inuisti. The first thing that ran through his head was, ‘What’s she doing here?’ She was the last person he’d expected to see there.

Noctis had walked in before Prompto. Now he stood frozen to the spot, his back stiff. Prompto couldn’t see his face, but he could practically feel the tension radiating off him.

“Noctis,” Maxima said in a half-pleasant, half-strict tone. “I don’t believe you’re supposed to be here.”

She walked down the stairs, slowly, each step deliberate.

Noctis didn’t move an inch. It was as though he was rooted to the spot.

“I’ve been wondering where you went off to,” Maxima said. “We missed you at The Cure.”

She was barely an arms length away from Noctis now. She lifted her hand, and Noctis flinched.

“Now, now. Is that a nice way to greet an old friend? Well? Aren’t you gonna say something?”

She moved closer, pressed two fingers under Noctis’ chin to make him look at her.

“Have you lost your voice, Noct?”

Maxima grinned, a malicious, cold grin that sent chills down Prompto’s spine. He moved towards them and grabbed Noctis’ arm. “Noct…”

Maxima rounded on Prompto. She slapped his hand with a slim, pointed stick. “Don’t butt into this, sweetie, unless you want to lose your hand.”

Prompto yelped and drew back.

“Kneel,” Maxima said to Noctis, her voice suddenly cold.

To Prompto’s surprise, Noctis fell to his knees immediately. He kneeled flat on the floor, head meeting the ground, just as Prompto had seen him done so many times before. Prompto felt helpless in the face of such utter surrender.

“That’s a good boy,” Maxima purred. She turned to Prompto. “Now… You. Come here.”

Prompto stood his ground.

She chuckled. “I see. You’re tougher than you look.”

Prompto glared at her. Maxima lifter her hand. Her eyes looked strange, like they were bleeding into black.

“Don’t take it personally,” she said, “but this is a private meeting and you were not invited.”

Prompto felt his skin prickle uncomfortably and the air hummed. It reminded him of the electricity he’d seen in Noctis’ hand, only stronger. The air around Maxima glowed red.

“Ardyn,” Noctis growled. “Back off from him.”

He lifted himself onto one arm, the other he stretched out towards Maxima. His hand glowed blue… no, a ring on his finger that Prompto hadn’t seen before glowed blue.

Maxima backed off. Her eyes were on the ring. And suddenly… the moment seemed to have no transition; suddenly she wasn’t standing there anymore. A tall man stood there in her place. Ardyn Izunia.

Prompto caught his breath. Whatever was going on here, it was of a completely different scale than what he could cope with. All he could do was watch Noctis’ back to the best of his ability.

“The ring of the Lucii.” Ardyn sneered. “I see. I should have killed that obnoxious oracle while I had the chance.”

Noctis got to his feet.

“Ravus could never wear it, but I guess you never intended him to. You planned to take the throne once he was expendable.”

“Oh, you are too clever,” Ardyn said.

Prompto found he didn’t like his condescending sarcasm. Behind his laid-back attitude, he could sense a malevolent strength that frightened him.

“I think it’s time you give up this game,” Noctis said. “You’ve been poisoning Lucis with your presence for too long.”

“My dear grandchild, I’d love to see you try.”

Suddenly there was a sword in Ardyn’s hand. It showed up out of nowhere in a shower of red sparks. Prompto didn’t even have time to try and get Noctis out of the way before Ardyn launched his sword towards him. But although Noctis had been so close that there was no way he could have dodged it, somehow he still did. Ardyn missed him with barely an inch. And then a sword was in Noctis’ hand too. For a second it glowed blue, and then it was firm as steel in his hand, like a real sword. It _was_ a real sword.

An incredible fight that Prompto had no way of following with his eyes, unfolded. Noctis and Ardyn darted back and forth with seemingly no effort, performing what could only be described as teleporting so quickly and fluidly that all Prompto could see was flashes of blue and red. He had no chance of seeing if Noctis was holding up or not.

At moments they would clash, but it would last barely a second before they were darting around again. Prompto backed up against the wall and wished he could get a clear shot at Ardyn, but each time he had the chance, he was too close to Noctis to risk it. Time was running out and they seemed no closer to getting a grip on Ardyn. As a matter of fact, it started to look like Noctis was tiring.

‘No,’ Prompto thought. ‘Don’t give up!’

Noctis landed on the floor in front of the throne, stumbled, and kneeled. Ardyn landed in front of him, a wide grin on his face. He was brandishing his sword but didn’t immediately attack Noctis. Their gazes were locked, Noctis’ in hardheaded determination, Ardyn in gleeful self-confidence.

“Now?” Ardyn said. “Any last words?”


	9. Disclosure

Noctis glared up at Ardyn.

“Really, now. I think you should be more grateful,” Ardyn said. “I could have killed you five years ago, when you were nothing but a frightened, helpless child. But I didn’t. I sent you away to The Cure so that you could make use of your life and be a good role model for other omega’s. And this is how you repay me? By trying to kill me?”

“I’m not trying to kill you,” Noctis bit out. “I’m trying to save Lucis from you.”

Ardyn scoffed.

“Lucis will become a better place with my help. I will make this spineless country of insipid bootlickers into an empire; something to be feared.”

“And you will stop at nothing,” Noctis said. “Not even killing babies.”

“I see. My view on alpha’s and omega’s has offended you. But don’t take it personal. It’s simply about strengthening the country. How can a country run properly if half of its leaders run after the other half more often than they can focus on leading the country? How can a people that need leave from work every month to frolic like animals properly run a country? Now, I’ve never been very fond of human nature in any case, but to see the way people of your type behave is simply… sordid.”

Prompto clenched the gun in his hand. He felt every word like a stab through his gut, like needle-pricks stabbing his most sensitive areas. If Ardyn took one step closer to Noctis now, he would shoot him without hesitating. Maybe not in the head, though that was tempting, but they weren’t savages. He would certainly enjoy putting a bullet in a less fatal area, though.

“So that’s why you killed my father?” Noctis said through his teeth, his jaw clenched tight. “Because he supported those _sordid_ affairs? Because he respected half of this county’s population and saw them as _humans_?”

“Your father died because he was stubborn,” Ardyn said. “I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn’t listen. It was better this way, Noctis. His views were… alarming. He would not have done this country any justice.”

Noctis voice shook slightly when he spoke, “I think I’ve heard enough.”

He held up his hand and started muttering foreign words under his breath. The ring lit up until it shone so brightly that it was impossible to look directly at it. Noctis’ voice rose with the force of the light. Ardyn was captured in the rings force. He stood like frozen to the ground unable to turn away or even look away.

“Do you really think you’re strong enough to use that on me?” Ardyn bit out.

“I’m the King of Light,” Noctis said. His voice had adapted a new, forceful timbre. “And you have nothing to stand up against me with.”

Ardyn’s face contorted into a snarl, but he couldn’t move; apparently he couldn’t even speak anymore.

“Ardyn Lucis Caelum, I hereby strip you of your royal heritage,” Noctis boomed. “Lucis Caelum is no longer your name. Ardyn Izunia is all you’ll ever be. “

Ardyn was forced to his knees, the ring seeping all power from him.

“You will no longer have access to the Armiger,” Noctis continued, mercilessly. “You’ll no longer have access to the power of the Chrystal. You will just be another ordinary person. You’ll no longer be immortal.” He drew a deep breath and said with an almost unnaturally force in his voice, “Let it happen.”

Ardyn screamed. Then the light diminished, slowly, leaving him slumped on the floor, too weak to move an inch. Noctis swayed on his knees, and then he pitched forward. Prompto rushed to his aid and caught him just in time. He was unconscious, just like Ardyn. The skin of his right arm, the one that wore the ring, and the right side of his face glowed like lava. Prompto didn’t dare touch him for fear of getting burned. He feared for Noctis’ life. It didn’t look like any mere man could sustain that kind of injury. But then Noctis wasn’t a mere man.

Noctis groaned, and Prompto nearly cried in relief.

“Noctis, are you okay?”

Noctis groaned again. He got to his elbows and flinched when he used the right arm. He touched it instinctively, but when he really looked at it, he flinched back.

“Does it hurt?” Prompto asked.

Noctis experimentally touched his arm again. “It stings,” he said. “But it looks worse than it feels.”

Prompto helped Noctis to his feet.

“Is your camera still working?” Noctis asked. “Mine is ruined.”

Prompto tapped the lens of the camera attached to the front of his uniform.

“Mine is still working.”

“Good.”

They both looked at Ardyn who remained unconscious.

“Let’s bring him to Luna’s room,” Noctis said. “I need to talk to Ravus.”

 

\-----

 

Noctis tore the tablecloth from Ravus mouth. He received a baleful glare.

“What do you think you’ll gain from this?” Ravus spat. “I am the rightful heir and there’s nothing you can do about it. Breaking into the Citadel certainly won’t help you ascend to the throne.”

“Are you really the rightful heir, Ravus?” Noctis asked. “I’m still alive. Legally, the throne belongs to me.”

“And you’ve proved yourself unworthy of it.”

“Under which court? Who spoke for me when the entire council turned on me, _their king_ , with a fabricated lie that allowed people like you and that manipulating Chancellor of yours to infest the royal line?”

Ravus clenched his teeth together. “I only did as I was bid. Nothing more and nothing less.”

“So if you were bid to relinquish the crown, you would?”

Ravus didn’t answer.

“Tell me, Ravus…” Noctis kneeled in front of him. “Did you really want this? Was this _your_ choice? Or did you step up to the task simply because it was expected of you?”

“I think you know the answer to that already.”

“So, if I can prove that I’m worthy of the throne, you’ll gladly relinquish it?”

“I will.”

Noctis stood. “Thank you.”

Ravus barely inclined his head in acceptance.

Noctis turned towards Prompto.

“Did you get that?”

Prompto showed him the thumbs up.

“Then all we can do is wait,” Luna said.

 

\-----

 

The ramifications that the live feed of Noctis and Prompto’s offensive towards the Citadel caused were major. People had already been fed with hints and claims and theories that rang with a little too much truth, but that always somehow were silenced by the leaders, and when they finally were served the whole truth they were both prepared and unprepared. At least they accepted it more easily, and the rooting for Noctis to become king rang loudly through the streets that evening. Many of Lucis people had already been dissatisfied with the rule, not only alpha’s and omega’s, but a lot of beta’s too.

The alpha’s and omega’s that were slowly but surely squeezed out of the society were someone’s son or daughter, mother or father, sister or brother. People could not let that slide easily. The information leaks about The Cure and the Chancellors cooperation with the formerly very powerful and dangerous empire of Niflheim, among so many other things started opening the eyes of even those who hadn’t found any fault in the new leadership at first.

As Noctis stood on the stairs of the Citadel, overlooking the huge crowd that had gathered outside the gates to greet him, Prompto finally realized that they would be okay. Ravus and Ardyn were tied up, and even the police and the Kingsglaive arrested them and not Noctis. The video feed had reached nearly every home in Lucis thanks to Ignis and Cindy who had contacted the largest news stations and invited them to watch and film the feed.  

Ignis had explained the bombs that had spread confusion and fear among the citizens. The detonations had been conducted in a safe environment by experts and were only meant as a distraction for the police. The false tip about the location of their hideout had been another lure for the police, and it had worked like a charm.

Noctis lifted his hand in greeting to Nyx, Libertus and Crowe who had been their moles in the Kingsglaive, and had made sure the Glaives were too far away from their king to create problems for Noctis and Prompto. The second the detonations went off, the Glaives had been about to race back to the citadel, but Nyx and the two others had made them watch the feed, and so they had stayed. They knew which king they were supposed to serve. They had never served anyone but a Lucis Caelum, and somehow, learning that they were allowed to serve their true king again had made them amendable to arriving a little too late to rescue their fake king.

Cor Leonis, who had been on their side the whole time and who had made sure that anyone who came rushing to Ravus’ or Ardyn’s aid were stopped, kneeled in front of Noctis.

“My king,” he said.

The Glaives did the same thing, and Prompto felt compelled to join them. Gladio, who had wanted to stay with Noctis but had to go out in the field instead since three people sneaking into the Citadel would look even more suspicious than two, kneeled too. Prompto was glad to see him unharmed. Ignis and Cindy weren’t there to witness the moment in person, but they, and the whole nation, witnessed it through the camera on Prompto’s lapel.

Noctis looked out over the score of bowed heads, and the horde of cheering citizens behind the wall, and Prompto saw him straighten up a bit, taking on his kingly demeanor, and fighting to contain the tears that moistened his eyes.

 

\-----

 

That night, Prompto couldn’t sleep. He was still high off the day’s events. He and Noctis stayed up late. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other for the last fifteen minutes, but the silence was comfortable. They were both immersed in their own, deep thoughts, and neither talk nor sleep would come easily.

The view from the rooms in the citadel was amazing. For someone who had spent the last few months moving from one rundown shack to the next, from one dingy motel room to another, staying in such a lavish place felt like a dream.

At one point Noctis turned from the window towards Prompto and said, “I can’t believe that this is happening.”

His eyes were brimming with tears again, but this time he looked more like the small and confused omega Prompto first had learned to know than the stunning and fearless king that he had proved that he was.

Prompto gathered him in his arms.

“Is it really over?” Noctis whispered. “I’m free?”

Prompto kissed his temple.

“It’s true. We’re finally free to live life again, thanks to you.”

They finally went to bed. Prompto watched as Noctis undressed, unashamed to show Prompto every inch of his body. Prompto’s eyes lingered over the vertical, thin white scars crisscrossing over Noctis’ ass and upper thighs. Noctis claimed that he’d had it easier than some of the other omega’s at the facility. They had been whipped whenever they expressed ‘carnal need’. This didn’t have to mean more than a subtle rubbing together of their thighs. They were forced to kneel on the floor in a mocking imitation of the most popular and cliché mating pose that omega’s were known to assume during heat, so that they could receive the punishment for their insolence.

It was no wonder that Noctis had such trouble accepting that he actually was allowed to have those carnal needs, and that he in Prompto’s company even was encouraged to.

Noctis slipped under the sheet and curled up against Prompto’s side. He kissed his shoulder and then his mouth. Prompto smiled and carded his fingers through Noctis’ hair. They lay in comfortable silence for a while and Prompto had almost drifted off to sleep when Noctis suddenly spoke.

“Prompto… What do you think about… a child?”

Prompto’s brain froze for a second. They hadn’t even had sex yet, and suddenly Noctis was talking about children? Not that he was complaining, not at all, he’d just never expected Noctis to be the one to broach the subject. He tried to calm his wildly racing heart until he knew that Noctis was completely serious.

“Well… Knowing your family, I’m a little thorn.” Prompto said. He chuckled at Noctis’ crestfallen expression. “I’m just kidding. Though, I hope your grandfather’s insanity isn’t inheritable.”

“If it is, I think your kind genes will cancel it out.”

Prompto grinned. “But… Are you serious?”

Noctis nodded. “Yeah. I’m going into heat now, actually.”

“You are?”

Prompto bowed his head and pressed his nose to Noctis scent glands right underneath his jawline. The scent was still subtle but definitely there. Prompto felt a warm surge of desire wash through him.

“You realize this means we have to have sex, right?”

Noctis gave him a deadpan look. “Of course I know that!”

“Sorry, just had to make sure since, you know… We haven’t exactly… actually had sex yet, so…”

Noctis kissed Prompto’s cheek. “Isn’t this a good time to start?”

“I guess so,” Prompto murmured. Noctis had moved on to mouth at his scent glands, and suddenly his thoughts felt a little hazy. It was only when Noctis slid Prompto’s boxers down and started jerking him off with eager, sure strokes that Prompto started putting together the pieces.

“W-wait… You meant now? Right now?”

Noctis looked up at him, bewildered. “Yeah?”

“But – It’s not like I don’t want to, but… Isn’t it a bit sudden?”

Noctis sat up. “Don’t you want a baby after all?”

“Yes, of course I do! I was thinking more about you, actually. Are you really sure about this?”

“Positive. After all the death and destruction I’ve seen, I want to create something. After all the family I have lost, I want to make a family of my own.”

Prompto felt tears gather in his eyes. He knew exactly how Noctis felt.

“Okay,” he said.

There were a few awkward moments where they tried to agree upon a position and then they just nuzzled each other and kissed and talked while Prompto, who was lying between Noctis’ spread legs, slowly warmed him up the way he used to, by caressing his thighs and hips and stomach in circling, languid motions. He felt the tension slowly seep out of Noctis as his fingers explored his skin. He completely ignored the flushed cock lying against Noctis stomach.

They hadn’t done this during heats yet, Noctis tended to shut down during them, so it would be interesting to see if they could work it out this time.

Prompto’s fingers moved slowly closer and closer to Noctis’ pussy.

“Is this okay?” Prompto said.

Noctis frowned but nodded.

Prompto slid one hand between Noctis’ legs. He caressed him gently and moved his hand forward slowly, until Noctis wasn’t clamping his thighs together anymore. They’d gone as far as this before. Noctis had even allowed Prompto to touch his pussy a few times, but he chickened out when Prompto tried to go further. He was fine with Prompto doing practically anything else to him, as long as it didn’t directly derive pleasure from him. He was fine with seeing Prompto lose himself to his orgasm, but denied himself anything of the sort. Prompto had longed to make Noctis feel as good as he did, but he feared that Noctis would deny himself it this time too.

Noctis shivered when Prompto’s fingers dipped in between the wet folds of his pussy. For a moment it seemed like he was about to ask Prompto to stop, but when he didn’t Prompto hurried to proceed. He prodded gently, one finger sliding deeper until he felt the soft, warm flesh give.

Noctis gasped.

From then on and forward, Noctis didn’t try to stop Prompto. He tensed a bit at times, but when Prompto stopped he asked him to continue. Whether this was all that was needed to make Noctis’ fears lose hold on him, or if it simply was the right moment, neither of them could tell. It didn’t matter.

Prompto kissed Noctis everywhere. His lips and hands roamed to places he wouldn’t have dared to before. Noctis accepted all of it.

“Prompto…” He gasped against his ear. “Do it. Now…” He bit the side of Prompto’s neck. “I can’t wait any longer.”

Prompto fumbled with his boxers. His hands were shaking and his heart was racing. The scent of Noctis’ heat was lying thick and prominent in the air. He could barely think straight. His cock pulsed in his hand. He aligned himself with Noctis and pushed gently inside. Noctis tensed. He let out a shivery breath.

“Ohh…”

Prompto moved with his body; pushed when he felt Noctis give, pulled back when he tensed.

“Are you okay?” He asked. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t moving forward too fast.

Noctis nodded. “Y-yeah… Ahh… God…”

Prompto sank into the velvety heat of Noctis pussy again and again, faster and faster. He pushed his arms in under Noctis shoulders so he could hold him steady and at the same time kiss him and nuzzle his scent glands. Noctis curled around Prompto when he grazed his scent glands with his teeth.

“Oh… I – I… I can’t…”

Prompto delivered one perfect, deep thrust, and Noctis came with a choked moan.

Prompto held him tight as his body slowly wound down. He could feel his knot form quickly now. He thrust gently and shallowly, but Noctis body was relaxed and he tightened his legs around Prompto’s hips, encouraging him to go on.

Prompto felt his orgasm wash over him, and his knot settled with it. A second too late he realized that he should have prepared Noctis for it. Now it was too late as his knot sealed them together.

Noctis whimpered softly. Then he tried to scoot away, but found he couldn’t. Prompto hurried to hold his shoulder down so that he couldn’t make any abrupt movements and hurt them both.

“It’s okay,” he said. “It feels too big the first time, but it’ll be okay. I promise.”

Noctis stared up at him with wide, confused eyes, but he trusted Prompto and forced himself to stay put. A groove appeared between his eyebrows and his body tensed. Prompto, who was already half blissed out, did his best to soothe him. He caressed safe spots that he knew calmed Noctis, like his sides and his neck.

Soon, Noctis was frowning for a completely different reason.

“Oh… hah…”

He relaxed again, this time so completely that he almost sank boneless into the bed.

“Ohh… That’s good… Prompto…”

Prompto nibbled at his neck.

“Ahhh…!” Noctis’ whole body was shaking. He strained up towards Prompto, his back arched and his mouth slack. “Haaahh…”

Prompto was barely moving, but each subtle rub of his knot against Noctis sensitive insides was sending Noctis into spasms. Prompto held him close. His nose rubbed over Noctis’ scent gland. The scent from him had spiked and assumed a new character. Prompto wasn’t thinking at this point, but if he had he would maybe have stopped and considered before he did what he did next. What he didn’t know, since he had never experienced it before, was that his and Noctis’ scents had aligned, like they did when an alpha and an omega were ready for a mating bond. Prompto reacted on instinct and bit down over Noctis’ throat, burying his teeth in the soft scent glands on each side of his neck.

Noctis nearly screamed and clamped down almost painfully hard on Prompto’s cock. At that moment he barely felt it. He came inside Noctis at the same moment as Noctis had his second orgasm. He spilled deep inside of him, and all he could think was that he was impregnating Noctis. He was pumping him full of his cum, ensuring he was his and no one else’s. Noctis would be his, and Prompto would be Noctis’.

Noctis acted on instinct, just as Prompto had. Once Prompto let go of his throat, Noctis’ mouth searched out Prompto’s throat and clamped down over his scent glands, his teeth burying into them and making Prompto release another spurt of cum inside him. It was like having a new orgasm right after the first. His arms shook with the effort of holding him upright through all this. His whole body was buzzing pleasantly and he felt warm and calm. He lay down next to Noctis once his knot receded enough that he could pull out. He watched his cum leak out of Noctis’ pussy as he pulled out, and knew that Noctis was so full of his cum that he couldn’t hold it all in.

They lay sprawled out next to each other for a while, trying to catch their breath.

“Wow,” Noctis said at last. “I’ve missed out.”

 

\-----

 

When they joined Gladio and Ignis for breakfast the next morning, they received imploring glances from them. Prompto self-consciously touched his face.

“What is it?”

“Oh, nothing,” Ignis said fleetingly and concentrated on his coffee.

“We’re just a bit surprised the walls of the citadel aren’t better soundproofed,” Gladio said.

Prompto felt his face turn bright red. Noctis didn’t look much better.

“Either that,” Gladio continued, “Or the two of you are just unusually loud.”

Ignis and Gladio exchanged amused glances while Noctis and Prompto sat down at the table with ears and faces as red as tomatoes.

“We should go back to our room and prepare for the press-conference that Noctis promised the public today,” Ignis said a little while later when they were pleasantly full on delicious food. He and Gladio stood.

“Wait… Did you guys share a room?” Prompto asked.

“Why do you act so surprised?” Ignis asked.

“We’ve been sharing ruts and heats exclusively for the past year,” Gladio said. “It didn’t dawn on you until now?”

“Huh… No. Congrats.”

“You two too,” Ignis said with an amused smile.

After Ignis and Gladio had left, Noctis turned to Prompto.

“How much time do we have before the press-conference?”

Prompto checked his watch. “Two hours.”

“Plenty of time for another round, then?”

Prompto was about to ask what he meant with another round when Noctis’ expectant and slightly flirty grin clued him in.

He grinned too. “Oh, definitely.”

 

\-----

 

The next few months passed in a blur. Prompto was glad they had so many competent people around them. He wasn’t sure they would have gotten far on their own. Ignis soon assumed the role as Noctis’ Chamberlain and Royal Advisor. Gladio got the role as Noctis’ Royal Shield and was trained by the Kingsglaive.

Prompto was also trained by the Kingsglaive so that he too could protect Noctis, but his true role was much more daunting. As Noctis’ bonded mate, he would have to marry Noctis. He would become King Consort. He’d practically rule the whole kingdom alongside Noctis, and it both terrified and excited him.

Ignis was not so happy about the news of Noctis’ and Prompto’ bonding, neither was he charmed with news that they were trying to get pregnant.

He sat them both down to have a serious talk with them.

“Noctis, I wish you’d spoken to me about this first.”

Noctis grimaced. “Specs… With all due respect… Honestly, this is the last thing I’d want to talk to you about.”

Ignis closed his eyes for a brief second. He was visibly trying to control his temper.

“Are you aware how much time it takes to prepare a royal wedding? I’ve talked to the former chamberlain, and he highly advised me to wait for at least a year _after_ the coronation.”

“We can just have a small wedding.”

“You’re the king. You can’t just have a small wedding. The public would be very displeased.”

“Then what about having a combined wedding and coronation? Everyone who needs to be there will be there anyway, and it would be like Prompto’s coronation too!”

Ignis sighed, a deep, desperate sound.

“Noct… Is this really the impression you want the public to have of you, the first omega king since Clemens the Weak? Having a child outside of marriage even before your coronation?”

Noctis huffed.

“Are you with child yet?” Ignis asked.

“No…”

“Then I suggest you wait a year longer. I imagine the joy of finally having your child in your arms will be that much greater if you don’t have a mob outside the walls rooting for your head.”

“People are so fickle,” Noctis muttered.

“Such is the world we live in. You might be the King of Light, but you’re still an omega and as such you still have a lot to prove. Show them that they’re wrong about you, make them believe in you, and then you can start trying to change their views. But not before that.”

Noctis hugged him. A surprised “Oh…” left Ignis.

“What should I do without you?” Noctis murmured.

Ignis hesitated a second before placing his arms tight around Noctis. “Probably something reckless.”

Prompto hugged them both. A surprised chuckle escaped Ignis, but he opened his arms for Prompto too. Gladio, who had been standing by the door couldn’t let the opportunity of a group hug pass him. He gathered them all up in his strong arms and nearly lifted them from the ground to a chorus of squeals and groans.

“Gladio!” Noctis exclaimed and laughed, although he sounded a bit short of breath from the squeeze on his lungs.

Prompto laughed too. Even Ignis was smiling and leaning into Gladio’s chest.

Prompto had thought this was as happy as it was possible to be, but in the following years he was proved wrong many a time; first with his marriage to Noctis, then with the birth of their first child, and between and after that so, so many other times. As the years passed, they created great and positive changes in the country and life became easier for alpha’s and omega’s. Their kingdom became more prosperous and peaceful than it had ever been, and it stayed that way for many years to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a happy ending for our boys who have struggled so much ^^ I hope you've enjoyed this little adventure and thank you so much for reading! <3


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